Canada made a strange statement on sanctions against Nord Stream

Ottawa lifts waiver of turbine repair restrictions

Canada said on Wednesday it would lift a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s largest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany.

Canadian authorities are canceling the exemption from sanctions in connection with the repair of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, writes The Guardian. Ottawa lifted sanctions exemptions that allowed the Montreal company to repair turbines for the gas pipeline.

The pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic Sea was stopped for repairs on August 31, but its work was not resumed, the newspaper notes. A month later, the gas pipeline was badly damaged by a series of explosions. European governments suspect that the ruptures of the gas pipeline and another gas pipeline called Nord Stream 2 were caused by sabotage. Moscow called Western claims that Russia was behind the bombings “crazy.”

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, in a joint statement refusing to lift sanctions, accused the Russian authorities of never intending to return Nord Stream 1 to full operation, despite the fact that “the pipeline itself was disabled.”

Canadian ministers said the decision came after close cooperation with Ukraine, Germany and other European allies.

According to CTV News, the decision came three months after the explosions, which Swedish investigators say were the result of “gross sabotage” and led to the failure of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

“Canada makes this decision recognizing that the circumstances surrounding the granting of the waiver have changed,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Foreign Secretary Melanie Jolie said in a statement.

The pipeline is owned by Gazprom, but Siemens Canada had a contract to maintain turbines for the pipeline at its Montreal facility. One of the turbines was in Montreal when Canada imposed sanctions on Gazprom after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. The exception to the sanctions affected six turbines, but only one was in Canada. The remaining five turbines were not shipped to Canada after being eliminated.

Russia began restricting gas supplies to Germany in June, citing maintenance problems. Berlin, facing an energy crisis, has asked Canada to lift turbines from sanctions.

But deliveries could not be restored in full, and in August the flows through the pipeline were completely stopped. Explosions were recorded on the highway in September.

The sanctions exemption caused political upheaval, with Germany desperate to gain access to more energy, and Ukraine accusing Canada of playing into Moscow’s hands and showing “weakness” in the West’s resolve on Russia, CTV News notes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, and the issue of energy and benefits was discussed between them. Ukraine was also informed about this decision of the Canadian authorities.