In the gas dispute with Russia, Scholz wants to inspect the turbine on Wednesday.
(Photo: Reuters)
Berlin/Mülheim an der Ruhr/Montreal In the gas dispute with Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to visit the turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Wednesday, which is stored on the way from Canada to Russia in Mülheim an der Ruhr. This was announced by the energy technology group Siemens Energy on Tuesday. The turbine is ready for onward transport to Russia, it said.
In an interview with the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail”, Scholz defended the delivery, which is controversial because of the circumvention of sanctions. “By delivering the turbine, we blew up Putin’s bluff,” he said. “He can no longer use this pretext and no longer bring up technical reasons for the lack of gas deliveries.”
Scholz defended Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was under pressure because of the turbine deliveries. “For me, the criticism of Justin Trudeau and his government is completely unfounded,” he said. “The decision to supply the turbine is hardly a favor to Gazprom, but rather a strong sign of support for Germany and Europe.”
The maintenance and shipping of the Nord Stream 1 turbine had caused a stir in the past few weeks. The Russian government and the energy company Gazprom on the one hand and Siemens Energy on the other recently accused each other of impeding smooth delivery and installation.
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Since June, Russia has cut back gas supplies via Nord Stream 1, also citing the lack of the turbine as the reason. The federal government, on the other hand, accuses the Russian government of playing a power game with the turbine and using gas as a means of exerting pressure against western sanctions.
Former Chancellor Schröder criticizes Siemens
Former Chancellor and Putin friend Gerhard Schröder is now providing new topics for discussion. He blames Siemens for the delays. “The turbines that you need to get the gas into the pipeline at all come from Siemens and have to be serviced regularly,” he told the magazine “Stern” and the broadcasters RTL/ntv in an interview published in advance on Wednesday.
At the time of the Russian invasion, the former chancellor was on the executive committees of the gas pipeline operator Nord Stream and the Russian energy company Rosneft.
(Photo: dpa)
“But Siemens brought the much-discussed turbine from the maintenance department in Canada to Mülheim an der Ruhr. I don’t understand why she is there and not in Russia.”
The fact that only a fifth of the normal amount of gas is currently flowing through the pipeline – 30 million cubic meters per day – is due to technical reasons, Schröder explained. “It would be 60 million, twice as much if only turbine number 2 were available. That is Siemens’ responsibility, if I see it correctly.”
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