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Zelensky warns that the exceptions are perceived as a weakness by Putin
July 11 (EUROAP PRESS) –
The Ukrainian government summoned the Canadian ambassador in kyiv on Monday to convey its discomfort over the return to Germany of a repaired Siemens turbine from the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline despite the sanctions imposed on Russia.
Berlin had asked Canada to return the turbine so that it would not serve as an excuse for Russia to suspend the shipment of gas through the pipeline, which would make it difficult for Germany to fill its gas tanks in the face of winter.
Ukraine has openly expressed its rejection of the return of the turbine, considering that it is “blackmail” from the Kremlin, but finally the Canadian government has announced that it will deliver the piece by issuing a “revocable and limited-time” permit. ” to exempt it from sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas industry.
The important presence of Ukrainians in Canada has also been a source of pressure for the Canadian government in the face of the intention that has finally been imposed to help “our European friends and allies”, in the words of the Minister of Natural Resources of Canada, Jonathan Wilkinson .
“In the absence of a necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very significant difficulties and Germans themselves risk not being able to heat their homes as winter approaches,” he argued.
After hearing the news, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, has warned that “this exception to the sanctions will be perceived in Moscow exclusively as a symptom of weakness.”
“That is their logic and now there is no doubt that Russia will try not only to limit, but even to completely shut down gas supplies to Europe,” he said. “Each concession under such conditions is perceived by Russian leaders as an incentive to go further and increase pressure,” she stressed.
The turbine, built in Canada by Siemens Energy AG, was sent to Montreal for repairs and was left stranded due to sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas industry following its invasion of Ukraine.
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