Zakharova: The operation of Nord Stream is up to our partners

“As for the future operation of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, a lot will depend on our partners,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today, continuing the thriller with the possibility of a complete shutdown of Russian flows to Europe.

It is recalled that the natural gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany has been out of service since July 11, with fears that it will not resume on July 21 as planned.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, Ms. Zakharova argued that its course will depend on Russia’s partners, explaining that it is something to do with parameters such as natural gas demand and “avoiding negative impacts due to sanctions on the operation of the pipeline.” .

“For example, like with the repair of a Siemens turbine in Canada,” he added.

💬#Zakharova: Regarding the future operation of #NordStreammuch will depend on our partners’ demand for gas and on efforts to curb the negative impact of restrictions on the pipeline’s operation, like Canada’s refusal to return a @Siemens gas turbine it had received for repair. pic.twitter.com/odUzuadFJU

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) July 14, 2022

It is recalled that the turbine in question was sent to Montreal for repair, but was not returned to Germany due to the sanctions imposed by Canada against Russia.

On July 9, following related requests, Canada returned the turbine to Germany. The European Commission, for its part, said that such actions do not violate sanctions against Russia, as the measures in question do not apply to natural gas transit equipment.

For her part, Maria Zakharova stressed that the current shutdown of Nord Stream was planned a long time ago, as part of the pipeline’s annual routine, that it had been agreed with Russia’s partners, and therefore “we reject any speculation on the subject”.