Putin Pushing Europe Toward Brutal Winter? Gazprom Blames Germany's Siemens For Nord Stream Supply Halt

A day after Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson said Russia would not resume gas supplies to Europe until the western sanctions are lifted, state-owned gas supplier Gazprom OGZPY blamed Siemens Energy SMEGF for the resumption delays in Nord Stream 1.

What Happened: The Russian natural gas pipeline will not resume shipments until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom’s Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told Reuters on Tuesday.

“You should ask Siemens. They have to repair equipment first,” he said.

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This came after Gazprom last week said it had detected an engine oil leak at the only turbine still working at the Portovaya compressor station for the Nord Stream 1 and would shut down supply until the fix was made.

Siemens Energy, which carries out repair work for Nord Stream pipelines– had earlier said that it had not been commissioned to carry out the work but was ready to do so. It also added that the sanctions do not prohibit maintenance. 

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the sanctions “introduced against our country by western countries including Germany and the UK” was responsible for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – stoking fears of winter fuel shortages.

“Other reasons that would cause problems with the pumping don’t exist,” Peskov said. “It is these sanctions imposed by the western states that have brought the situation to what we see now."

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