The United States is backing Canada’s decision to allow a Canadian company to return turbines from a Russian pipeline that supplies natural gas to Germany, saying it is the right move in the short term as European countries continue to work to reduce their “collective dependence ” from Russian Energy.
In a U.S. State Department statement released Monday, department spokesman Ned Price said it continues to work to further target and limit Russia’s ability to use energy revenues in its ongoing attacks against Ukraine, while seeking to limit the impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on the global energy market.
“The United States is united with our allies and partners in our commitment to advancing European energy security, reducing our collective dependence on Russian energy, and maintaining pressure on the Kremlin,” the statement said. “We support the Canadian government’s decision.
On Saturday, Canada announced it had decided to grant a “time-limited and revocable permit” to allow Siemens Canada to return the Nord Stream 1 turbines to Germany from Montreal, where they had been sent for repairs.
The equipment was seized in Canada after the federal government imposed sanctions on Russian state energy company Gazprom. The gas giant claimed it needed the turbines to keep supplying Germany after already significantly reducing the flow of gas through the pipeline.
German Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck recently told Bloomberg that there are fears in Germany that if the turbines are not returned before scheduled maintenance, Russia could cite that as a reason to further disrupt natural gas supplies. gas to the country, leaving Germany without a sufficient reserve.
Despite American support, Canada’s decision drew strong criticism from Ukraine and its supporters, who are calling on Canada to reconsider, suggesting the federal government’s decision has given Russia leverage it will continue to try to use when it comes to for energy sector.
“What Russia now knows is that Canada and Germany blinked,” said the president of the Ukrainian-Canadian Congress, Alexandra Chitsiy.
“DANGEROUS PRECEDENT”: MPS
Domestically, federal opposition parties have also come out strongly against the move.
On Monday, NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson issued a scathing statement calling on Canada to reverse the “shocking and disappointing” decision.
“This decision contradicts the sanctions that Canada imposed on Russia in response to the illegal invasion and genocide in Ukraine. Canadians expect their government to show genuine solidarity with Ukraine, but the Liberal government’s decision is an insult to Ukrainians,” McPherson said.
“How is Canada going to have any legitimacy to demand that other countries hold Russia accountable for its crimes when we are not abiding by our own sanctions?”
Key members of the federal Conservative Party caucus also condemned the decision, saying in a statement Sunday that by circumventing its own sanctions, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government “sets a dangerous precedent of bowing to Putin’s blackmail of Europe and will negatively impact the position of Canada on the World Stage.”
There is now some pressure on the House of Commons foreign affairs committee to hold a special summer meeting to discuss the decision and examine the efficacy of the federal sanctions regime.
On Saturday, in a statement about the decision, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the allies “cannot allow” Putin’s attempts to use European energy security to sow division among the allies to succeed.
“Canada stands with Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked, brutal invasion, and we will continue to work in coordination with allies and partners to impose serious costs on the Russian regime,” Wilkinson said.
Along with the decision to return key pieces of pipeline infrastructure, the federal government announced the imposition of a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas sector.
“We will not stop imposing these heavy costs on the Putin regime as long as their unjustified invasion continues. We will continue to support our European friends and allies as they work to end dependence on Russian gas imports as quickly as possible, work to stabilize emergency markets and develop long-term and sustainable energy supply solutions,” the minister said in the statement. you are
With reporting by CTV National News Ottawa Bureau Chief Joyce Napier
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