German Prime Minister accused Russia of blocking the supply of turbines for the gas pipeline

German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz on Wednesday accused Russia of blocking the supply of a turbine, which is currently located in Germany, without which Moscow declares that Nord Stream gas pipeline cannot function properly.

“There is no reason why the transfer should not take place,” the German chancellor said at a time when Russia reduced the volume of gas supplies, citing the need for this turbine.

Moscow only has to “provide the necessary customs information for its transportation to Russia,” Scholz said during a visit to the Siemens plant in Mülheim an der Ruhr (west), where the turbine is located.

The Russian country cut supplies in June and July, explaining that the pipeline could not function properly without a turbine being repaired in Canada and that it did not return to Russia due to sanctions imposed by Westerners after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Germany and Canada agreed to deliver the equipment to Russia, but the turbine has not yet reached its final destination.

political maneuver

In recent days, Germany has said that this is nothing more than a “pretext” and a “political” decision to influence Western people in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline with a capacity of 167 million m3 per day, according to Gazprom, connects Russia with Germany through the Baltic Sea.

The pipeline is of strategic importance for delivering gas to Europeans, especially Germans, who are heavily dependent on Russian energy resources.

Westerners accuse Moscow of using energy weapons in response to the sanctions imposed after the attack on Ukraine.

The Kremlin, for its part, says the sanctions are causing technical problems in the gas infrastructure and therefore Europe is suffering from the measures it is imposing on Russia.

Russia cut off gas supplies to Germany

Gazprom stop for “technical reasons” pumping gas into Germany a fifth of the capacity of the Nord Stream gas pipeline, up to 33 million cubic meters per day, a decision that Berlin says is in line with a “military strategy”.

In the Russian gas company, the new decrease in gas flow was explained by the state of the turbine at the Portovaya compressor station, which had to be stopped for maintenance in accordance with the technical standards for its operation.

In the middle of last month, Gazprom reduced the daily volume of gas pumped by Nord Stream from 167 to 67 million cubic meters due to the need to repair the turbine of the German company Siemens. (EFE)