Dm. Peskov: Russia can contribute little to the repair of Nord Stream 1

Russia can contribute very little to the urgent repairs required by the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline equipment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

Russia cut gas supplies through the pipeline, which is the main route for Russian gas to Europe, to just 20% of capacity last week, noting that a turbine sent to Canada for maintenance has not yet returned. in the country (a process that was delayed due to Western sanctions) while adding that other pipeline equipment also needs repair.

The drop in natural gas supplies to Europe has intensified a dispute between Moscow and Europe over energy supplies, with the Kremlin attributing the shutdown of natural gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to problems with the return of a turbine from Canada to Russia. and the West to accuse the Putin government of using natural gas as a weapon.

“There are malfunctions that require urgent repairs as well as some artificial difficulties caused by the sanctions,” Peskov said.

“This situation needs to be corrected and Russia can do little to help that,” the Kremlin spokesman added.

Meanwhile, the turbine’s manufacturing company, Germany’s Siemens Energy, said it does not have on-site access to the turbines and has not received information from Gazprom about damage, so it must assume the turbines are working normally.

In a separate statement on Monday, the Russian state oil giant said its natural gas output fell 12 percent to 262.4 billion cubic meters from January to July, while exports to countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States have decreased by 35% compared to the same period of the previous year.