(Montreal) The Canadian government’s decision to send repaired parts of a Russian gas pipeline to Germany has aroused the ire of the President of Ukraine, whose country has been trying to push Russian soldiers out of its territory since February 24.
Posted at 7:16 a.m.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is also expected to express his displeasure verbally to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a telephone interview on Sunday.
The Canadian government’s decision to allow the turbines to be sent to the Russian energy company Gazprom in Germany, thereby contravening its own economic sanctions against Russia, is also causing a lot of discontent in the country.
In Ottawa, Tory MPs on Friday demanded that senior Liberal cabinet ministers explain the controversial decision at a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee next week.
The Liberals have allowed Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson to answer questions.
Two demonstrations to denounce the sending of Nord Stream 1 turbines to Europe, a pipeline which therefore allows Russia to export its gas to Germany, are planned for Sunday afternoon in Ottawa, but also in Montreal where is located the Siemens factory which repaired the turbines and obtained permission to send them back, without penalty, to Germany, despite the economic sanctions imposed on Vladimir Putin’s regime for its invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, Russia cut gas deliveries to Germany from its Nord Stream 1 pipeline by 60%, citing technical problems with the turbines.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Bali, Indonesia that Canada’s decision to return repaired parts from the Russian gas pipeline was difficult, but necessary.
The Canadian government maintains that it made this decision while waiting for the transition to limit Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.
“Without a necessary supply of natural gas, the German economy will suffer very serious difficulties, and the Germans themselves may not be able to heat their homes as winter approaches”, indicated the Minister Wilkinson last week.