German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited a repaired turbine in western Germany on Wednesday.
The absence of which Russia said was the reason for its decision to throttle gas flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
After repair work in Canada, the turbine was being temporarily stored in Mülheim an der Ruhr before being brought to Russia for installation in the pipeline.
Power engineering company Siemens Energy said on Tuesday that the turbine was ready for onward transport.
“The turbine is there; it can be delivered. All the technical reasons put forward are not comprehensible on a factual basis,’’ Scholz said.
German officials had repeatedly said that Russia’s decision to drastically reduce gas deliveries is an effort to punish Germany for its stance on the war in Ukraine and its participation in sanctions targeting Russia.
“With the delivery of the turbine, we called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bluff,’’ Scholz said.
Scholz said in an interview with Canadian Newspaper The Globe and Mail.
“He cannot use this pretext anymore and cite technical reasons for declining gas deliveries.’’
Scholz came to the defence of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had been criticised for allowing the turbine to be sent back to Russia in spite of the fact that the move violates sanctions.
“I consider the criticism of Justin Trudeau and his government as utterly baseless,’’ he said in the interview.
“The decision to deliver the turbine is hardly a favour to Gazprom. It is a strong sign of support for Germany and for Europe.’’
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