Putin cuts gas exports to Europe in ‘political’ move over sanctions

RUSSIA has blamed Western sanctions for its decision to curb gas supplies to Europe in a move Germany said was politically motivated.

Gazprom, Moscow’s state-backed energy giant, announced on Tuesday it would slash gas deliveries through a key European pipeline by 40 per cent as the measures make it impossible to return a turbine in Canada for maintenance.

In a statement, the firm said it had been forced to partially suspend operations at the Portovaya compressor station on the Russian Baltic Sea coast.

It added that only three gas compressor units at the site could be switched on because of the missing part, which was shipped to Montreal for scheduled maintenance earlier this year. The work was being carried out by German-headquartered Siemens Energy, which claimed sanctions prevented it from returning the turbine.

“Due to the sanctions imposed by Canada, it is currently impossible for Siemens Energy to deliver overhauled gas turbines to the customer,” it said. “We have informed the Canadian and German governments and are working on a viable solution.”

Germany has appealed to Canada to review its sanctions on Moscow to review whether it is possible for Siemens Energy to release the turbine.

Robert Habeck, its economic minister, said the EU’S sanctions regime would have allowed for part to have been sent back to Russia. But he said Gazprom’s decision to cut deliveries by 40 per cent was not linked to the maintenance, which was not due to take place until the autumn.

“So I also have the impression that what happened [on Tuesday] is a political decision, and not a decision that is technically justifiable,” Mr Habeck said.

“The Russian side’s argument is simply a pretext. It is obviously a strategy to unsettle and drive up prices.”

In a separate statement, Gazprom said it had informed Italian gas giant Eni that it would have to reduce deliveries by a different pipeline by 15 per cent.

Moscow has repeatedly been accused of using energy supplies to Europe as leverage against the sanctions imposed on it since the invasion of Ukraine.