Gas turbine is said to be on the way – criticism in Canada

Even if the turbine were in Russia in five days, installation during the official maintenance interval for Nord Stream 1 seems more than questionable. The annual repair work on the pipeline started last Monday and is scheduled to last until July 21. Since then, no more gas has flowed through the Baltic Sea connection.

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the turbine serviced by Siemens is only a replacement turbine anyway. “It is a replacement turbine for use in September,” said a spokeswoman for the ministry on Monday in Berlin.

In June, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom had already massively throttled gas supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – and this was mainly due to the lack of said turbine from Siemens Energy. Critics, on the other hand, accused the Kremlin of political calculations with regard to the restricted gas supplies.

Nevertheless, the federal government advocated an extradition so as not to give Russia an excuse for a further reduction in the agreed gas deliveries.

The gas turbine was serviced in Canada, but initially could not be delivered back to Russia due to sanctions. For weeks, only about 40 percent of the usual amount of natural gas flowed through the more than 1,200-kilometer pipeline from Russia to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Canadian Parliament investigates delivery

In Canada in particular, there were reservations about the delivery of the gas turbine. The sanctions imposed on Russia had actually blocked the return transport.

Despite pressure from the German government, the liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to the delivery of the gas turbine only a few days ago. Instead of going directly to Russia, it will first be taken to Germany. A direct delivery to Gazprom would have violated Canadian sanctions against Russia.

This is causing protests, especially in Canada. A foreign policy committee is expected to deal with the controversial decision in the next few days. The ambassadors of Ukraine, the European Union and Germany are also to testify before the committee.

At the beginning of last week, the Canadian government granted a two-year exemption for the delivery of up to six serviced gas turbines. The German federal government had previously campaigned in Ottawa for the approval of turbine exports. Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed the “decision of our Canadian friends and allies”. Scholz will travel to Canada for talks with Trudeau in the second half of August.

In the North American country, the decision to allow the delivery of the gas turbines is extremely controversial. Canada has 1.4 million nationals with Ukrainian roots, making it the second largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world after Russia.

In a number of constituencies, the vote of the politically very committed Canadians of Ukrainian descent can be decisive. The Ukrainian-Canadian Congress UCC called for the protest demonstration in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon.

The Canadian government has bowed to Russian blackmail, setting a “dangerous precedent that will weaken sanctions” against Russia, the UCC said. He asked the Canadian government to lift the exemption.

Canada has taken a tough stance on Russia since the start of the Ukraine war. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who herself has Ukrainian roots, found harsh words in condemning Russia’s actions against Ukraine. Now she supports the decision to deliver the gas turbines.

After a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bali, she admitted that it was a difficult decision for Canada. But one cannot support Ukraine alone. This requires the solidarity of the other G7 partners. “Canada heard very clearly from our German allies that Germany’s ability to maintain its support for Ukraine may be in jeopardy,” Freeland said.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau defends turbine delivery to Germany

Trudeau had also argued in the past few days that the delivery of the gas turbines was a measure intended to ensure that the people of Germany and other European countries “continue to support their governments in providing many billions of dollars in military, financial and humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian to provide people as they wage their struggle against tyranny and oppression”.

Trudeau has not yet faced open opposition to his course in the Liberal Party. But his government is a minority government and relies on the support of other parties in parliament. The Liberals signed an agreement with the social-democratic NDP in the spring that gives them a majority on important issues such as budget decisions.

However, clear criticism can now be heard from the Social Democratic Party on this important foreign policy issue. With the decision, sanctions are essentially meaningless, said her foreign policy spokeswoman Heather McPherson.

The conservative opposition speaks of a “slap in the face to the Ukrainian people”. Now the parliamentary committee for foreign policy will deal with the decision. This week, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Raw Materials Minister Jonathan Wilkinson are to be questioned about the background. The committee also plans to invite Germany’s Ambassador Sabine Sparwasser, EU Ambassador Melita Gabric and Ukrainian Ambassador Yulia Kovaliv.

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