A European Commission says Western sanctions against Moscow are not an impediment to the delivery of a gas turbine from Germany to Russia.
Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany to one-fifth of capacity as of July 27, saying the move was necessary because it hadn't received the turbine after it was sent out for maintenance. Gazprom says the sanctions make the delivery of a Siemens engine to the Nord Stream Portovaya compressor station impossible.
But both Germany and the EU have said there was no technical justification for slowing the flow of gas and that Russia's moves were politically motivated and linked to EU sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
"There is nothing in the sanctions that prohibits the turbine, which is the Siemens turbine, currently meant for Russia, to go there," Eric Mamer, chief spokesperson of the European Commission, said on August 5.
Some officials in the EU have accused Russia of weaponizing energy supplies, saying the turbine maintenance excuse was another example of Moscow making up excuses in an attempt to break the bloc's unity against Russia over the invasion, which is now in its sixth month.
Since June, Russia has significantly reduced gas deliveries through Nord Stream 1. Gazprom has justified this by blaming the reduction on the absence of the turbine, which had been sent to Canada for repairs.
Siemens Energy has repeatedly rejected the accusations that it has failed to provide the relevant paperwork to ship the turbine.