Kremlin boss Putin is carrying out his threat: the Russian state-owned company Gazprom is continuing to turn off the gas supply to Germany. The reason given by the state-owned company is problems with the repair of turbines. Federal Minister of Economics Habeck has sharply criticized the Russian President for this.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “perfidious play” because of the announced further reduction in gas supplies. “There are no technical reasons for the delivery cuts. The turbine is ready for delivery to Russia,” said Habeck. Siemens Energy’s export documents are complete, but Russia refuses to issue the import documents. “Russia breaks treaties and blames others,” Habeck continued.
“Putin is playing a perfidious game,” added the Green politician. His strategy is transparent. “He’s trying to weaken the great support for Ukraine and drive a wedge in our society. To do this, he’s fueling uncertainty and driving up prices. We’re countering this with unity and concentrated action. We’re taking precautions so that we can get through the winter. “
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had already threatened last week that there could be a further cut in gas supplies via Nord Stream 1 around July 26. He had referred to turbines used by the Russian energy company. According to this, a throttling is possible if a turbine repaired in Canada is not available again in time. Another turbine should therefore be sent around July 26 for repairs.
According to Habeck, the federal government has been implementing a precautionary plan for months, which was supplemented last week with an energy security package. “From building an LNG infrastructure at an extremely high speed to filling the storage facilities and reducing consumption – we are working on this with all our might. It is clear: gas consumption has to go down, the storage facilities have to be filled. The federal government is doing something about it is always necessary.”
Siemens had also stated that information from the Russian Gazprom group was still missing in order to send the turbine. “The transport of the turbine is prepared and could start immediately,” said a spokesman for Siemens Energy. All documents for the export to Russia have been available since the beginning of last week. “What is missing, however, are the necessary customs documents for importing into Russia. This information can only be provided by the customer.”
“The maintenance of our turbines is and remains a routine process,” said the Siemens Energy spokesman. “There have been no major complications in the last ten years.” When asked if additional serviceable turbines could be repaired in Canada, he said, “The current Canadian government permit also provides for additional Siemens Energy turbines to be serviced and subsequently exported in Montreal.” The company sees “therefore no connection between the turbine and the implemented or announced gas throttling at the present time”.