“Nothing prevents the return and installation of a Siemens turbine in Russia. Everything that is said on this subject is wrong,” said spokesman for the European executive Eric Mamer on Friday.
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Published on 05/08/2022 17:03
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Russian gas is still struggling to get to Europe. According to the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Nord Stream 1 deliveries are being reduced because of a defective turbine. He also claims that returning a turbine to Russia is being made “impossible” because of European sanctions. Arguments swept away by the European Commission on Friday 5 August. “Nothing prevents the return and installation of a Siemens turbine in Russia. Everything that is said on this subject is wrong,” said Europe Executive Spokesman Eric Mamer. According to him, Gazprom is looking for “an excuse not to supply gas to the European Union.”
>> INFOGRAPHICS. Visualize the drop in Russian gas supplies to Europe through the main gas pipelines
Nord Stream 1, which accounts for a third of European purchases of Russian gas, “is not subject to EU sanctions,” reminded Eric Mamer. Europeans have ordered a halt to their coal and oil purchases from Russia, but European sanctions do not affect gas purchases. “The gas is not on the table and we are not going to speculate about a possible package of sanctions that may or may not come,” Eric Mamer told AFP.
Gazprom and its bank Gazprombank are unaffected by the six packages of sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia since invading Ukraine. “There is blackmail on the part of Russia in relation to the energy supply of the European Union,” he denounces.