Germany’s Habeck Urges Canada to Help Thwart Putin on Gas
Germany’s vice chancellor made a public plea to the Canadian government to release a turbine that’s caught up in sanctions against Russia and critical for gas flows to Europe.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck told Bloomberg that the turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline needs to be returned before maintenance work begins on Monday. Releasing the component would remove an excuse for Russian President Vladimir Putin to keep the conduit closed.
“I’ll be the first one who will fight for a further strong EU sanction package, but strong sanctions means it must hurt and harm Russia and Putin more than it does our economy,” Habeck said in a phone interview late Wednesday. “Therefore, I ask for understanding that we have to take this turbine excuse away from Putin.”
“If it’s a legal question for Canada, I want to make clear that I’m not asking them to deliver it to Russia, but to bring it to Germany,” Habeck said. “It is with a heavy heart that we had to ask for this.”
Habeck said Putin may exploit the turbine issue to threaten Germany’s gas supply despite the fact the pipeline can still operate. He said he believes state-run Russian gas giant , which operates the pipeline, has another working turbine it could use in the meantime.
“We shouldn’t make the mistake that we believe Putin’s propaganda,” Habeck said. Returning the equipment before the scheduled shutdown might not resolve the issue, but it would undermine one of Putin’s potential arguments for keeping the pipeline closed afterward, he added.
“If we want to take this road of excuses away from him, I’m calling on the Canadian government not to wait too long and make the decision before the maintenance period starts,” Habeck said. “Otherwise I’m quite sure that Putin will find a political problem in the pipeline.”
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