Ukraine’s energy minister has urged the Canadian government not to return a key component needed to increase natural gas flows along the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany, according to a letter obtained by POLITICO.
Flows of Russian gas to Europe have plummeted since June 16, when state-owned Gazprom said Western sanctions were preventing the return of a Siemens gas turbine left for maintenance in Montreal and needed to operate.
Kyiv is asking Canada not to make an exception to its sanctions against Moscow over the gas turbine, on the grounds that Russia has been free to move its gas through Ukraine.
“Gazprom continues to spread false narratives to justify its actions aimed solely at monetary gains and exerting more and more political pressure” on the West, Ukrainian Prime Minister Herman Galushchenko said in a June 23 letter to the deputy prime minister of Canada Chrystia Freeland. “There must be a unified position and consistent actions, as demonstrated by Lithuania, which imposes sanctions on the transit of goods, despite blackmail and clear threats from the Kremlin.
The letter added that “all the necessary infrastructure is already in place to transit sufficient volumes of gas to the EU… However, Gazprom refuses to use Ukraine’s available capacity [gas transmission system]for which he pays.”
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck made a public appeal to the Canadian government on Thursday, calling for the bloc’s swift return so Europe can get more gas.
Flows of Russian gas to Europe via Nord Stream have dropped to 40 percent of the pipeline’s capacity, sending gas prices soaring. Spot prices in the benchmark European hub were at 184 euros per megawatt hour on Thursday, up from around 85 euros/MWh before the maintenance problem was announced last month.
“Strong sanctions mean they have to hurt Russia and Putin more than our economy,” Habek said. “Therefore, I ask for your understanding that we must remove this turbine excuse from Putin.
Nord Stream is due to be shut down for annual maintenance from July 11 to July 21. Last week, Habek expressed concern that he may never return online.
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