Decision reached on sanctioned Russian turbine – media

Canada and Germany have reportedly come to an agreement on delivering a Siemens gas turbine that wasn’t sent back from Canada to the operator of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in time due to Ottawa’s sanctions on Moscow.

A decision to return the turbine had already been taken, a source familiar with the issue said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters. A government source told the agency that it would be delivered to Germany first, which will then send it on to Gazprom so Canada does not breach any sanctions.

Last month, an operational problem, triggered by the failure to return the serviced turbine on time, forced the Gazprom-affiliated Nord Stream AG to reduce the flow through the pipeline to 40% of capacity.

On Friday, Moscow said gas supplies to Europe would be increased if the turbine was returned. 

Meanwhile, Kiev was reportedly seeking to block the return of the gas turbine to Russia, claiming that such a precedent would erode sanctions imposed on it in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.

The dispute comes amid a broader standoff between Russia and the EU, with Brussels trying to wean the bloc off Russian energy in an attempt to decrease its reliance on the sanctions-hit nation.

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