It is a "capitulation" which will "reinforce the feeling of Russian impunity".

Ukraine did not mince its words, Sunday July 10, with regard to Canada.

In question: the decision taken the day before by the government of Justin Trudeau to agree to send back to Germany a gas turbine which was near Montreal for repair.

This piece of equipment designed by the German group Siemens has been at the heart of the energy showdown between Russia and the West for the past month.

Germany has stepped up its efforts with Ottawa to obtain the return of the coveted turbine, supposed to be used to operate the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, the main source of gas supply for Germany and other countries in Central Europe.

International imbroglio against the backdrop of sanctions

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz even intervened in person to say that this turbine would "avoid energy shortages".

“We thank our Canadian friends and allies,” greeted the head of the German government after the green light from Ottawa.

However, the government of Justin Trudeau had again refused, last week, to return the coin to the sender, that is to say to Gazprom, the Russian energy giant which operates the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Canada believed that this was a breach of international sanctions against Russia.

He finally gave in to Berlin's proposal, which allows him not to formally fall under the sanctions by sending the turbine not to Gazprom directly but first to Germany... "Canada has granted Siemens Canada a a revocable, time-limited permit to allow repaired Nord Stream 1 turbines to return to Germany, which will support Europe's ability to access reliable and affordable energy," said Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

>> To see: "Ukraine: gas, the other Russian weapon? Moscow suspends delivery to Poland and Bulgaria"

To understand how gas turbines could become such a bone of contention between Russia, Germany, Ukraine and Canada, you have to go back to June 14.

That day, Gazprom said it was "forced" to reduce the amount of gas transported by Nord Stream 1 by almost 60% because of a technical problem linked to international sanctions.

In a tweet, the group then clarified that these were the famous gas turbines manufactured by Siemens that Canada did not want to send back to Russia because of these same sanctions.

An international imbroglio difficult to disentangle and which originates from the city of Vyborg, north of Saint Petersburg.

This is where the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline starts, and to transport the gas, you need some kind of powerful engine which, much like an airplane jet engine, propels it along the 1,200 kilometers of tubes.

It is the role of the turbines which raise the pressure at the start of the pipeline so that it is sufficient to propel the hydrocarbon to the German coasts, explains the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

A Russian excuse that no one believes?

Gazprom argues that as long as Canada retains the Siemens turbine, it will not be able to operate the pipeline properly.

But why did this crucial piece end up on the other side of the Atlantic?

In a press release, the German group explains that the part was manufactured and delivered to Gazprom in 2009 by Siemens Canada and can only, "for technical reasons", be repaired in the group's workshops in Quebec.

These pieces of equipment must undergo maintenance every ten years, and so many of them – five of the eight sold to Gazprom – ended up in Canada just before the war in Ukraine.

The start of the Russian invasion on February 24 was a game-changer and, with sanctions imposed on exports of oil and gas-related equipment to Russia, Canada had opposed the return of the turbine.

But the argument put forward by Gazprom to justify its decision of June 14 does not seem credible to many observers.

Neither Canada, nor Ukraine, nor even Germany really believe in it.

Robert Habeck, Vice-Chancellor and German Minister of the Economy, thus affirmed to the chain Bloomberg that this business of turbines “was a pretext”.

He said Berlin was confident that Gazprom had spare turbines that could run Nord Stream 1.

Even the German Energy Network Agency claimed on June 15 that the 60% drop in gas transported by Nord Stream 1 could not be explained by the lack of a single turbine, reports Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, the site of the editorial staff of the Madsack Media press group.

So why did Berlin struggle so hard to get the green light from Ottawa?

In fact, it would be a question of "preventing Vladimir Putin from using [the subject] as an excuse to deprive Europe of gas", assured Robert Habeck, still at the Bloomberg channel.

Nord Stream 1 closed for maintenance

For Germany, it was necessary to act quickly: Canada had to give its agreement before July 11th.

This Monday, the Russian giant Gazprom began its annual maintenance operation for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline. To do this, the group cut the gas tap on the pipeline, which supplies nearly 40% of German needs.

And it's not just Germany that is affected: part of the precious hydrocarbon that arrives from Russia via Nord Stream 1 to end its journey in Greifswald, Pomerania, is then reshipped to several countries in Western Europe. , such as the United Kingdom, Belgium or France.

In the current context of high tension on the energy markets, every cubic meter of gas counts.

This annual maintenance usually does not worry anyone.

It lasts between 10 and 14 days, then everything returns to normal, and European countries – starting with Germany – have plenty of time to build up their gas stocks in anticipation of winter, explains the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

But war in Ukraine obliges, "we are in an unprecedented situation and everything is now possible", warned Robert Habeck on Sunday, during an interview with German public radio.

The German government feared that Moscow would use the pretext of the turbines to indefinitely deprive Germany and Europe of the gas that passes through Nord Stream 1. This would be all the more serious as the alternatives are lacking.

Nord Stream 1 was one of the last pipelines still supplying significant quantities of Russian gas to Germany, as the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline – which passes through Poland – has dropped significantly in throughput since early July, while it no more Russian gas has passed through Ukraine since mid-May, recalls the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

But the story of the turbines is not over yet.

Germany has yet to get approval from Brussels for the export of this equipment to Russia despite European sanctions against the Russian energy sector.

"All our experts are working to obtain the necessary authorizations," said Siemens Energy.

A turbine that risks turning all the sanctions around.

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