Russia blames Europe for Nord Stream 1 interruption

Russia blamed European politicians on Sunday for keeping the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, one of its main gas supply routes, closed.

The Kremlin also said that the bloc’s economic sanctions on the country prevented Gazprom from maintaining the pipeline.

State-controlled Gazprom announced on Friday that the main gas pipeline to Germany would remain closed indefinitely, shocking customers who had expected it to reopen on Saturday after three days of maintenance work.

Moscow’s report came on the heels of an agreement between major nations, led by the United States, to seek ways to limit the prices paid for Russian oil exports. This has raised fears that parts of Europe could be forced to ration energy.

“If the Europeans absurdly decide to refuse to maintain their equipment, or rather equipment that belongs to Gazprom but which they are contractually obligated to maintain, that is not Gazprom’s fault,” said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, in an interview with Russian state media, according to the Interfax news agency.

“The fault lies with the politicians who made decisions on sanctions,” he continued.

Gazprom also revealed on Friday that it could no longer provide a timeframe for restarting deliveries after finding an oil leak, which prevented a turbine from working safely.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reported on Russian state television that in order for the equipment to continue operating, Siemens Energy must comply with the terms of the turbine maintenance contract.

“All terms of the repair agreement were completely breached, the conditions of carriage of this equipment were breached,” Interfax said, citing Novak.

“Also, sanctions have been introduced – both from Canada and the European Union – on the relevant equipment, so they need to be aligned with the contractual terms for that equipment to actually continue to function.”

Siemens Energy stated that it was not hired to carry out the work, but that it was available.

There was no information from Peskov or Novak on when Moscow might resume flows.

Europe has accused Russia of arming energy supplies in what Moscow called an “economic war” with the West over the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: CNN Brasil

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