(Ottawa, Montreal) Ukraine deplores the “dangerous precedent” set by Canada’s decision to grant Siemens an exemption from the existing sanctions regime sending turbines to Germany that were stuck in Montreal. The Canadian-Ukrainian community is also angry, and it showed it in Ottawa as in Montreal on Sunday.
Posted at 1:21 p.m.
In a lengthy statement released on Sunday, Kyiv expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision announced on Saturday by Ottawa, under which turbines that were intended for the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 can be transported to Germany.
“This dangerous precedent violates international solidarity, goes against the principle of the rule of law and will have only one consequence: it will reinforce Moscow’s feeling of impunity”, regretted the Ukrainian foreign ministries and Energy.
Especially since “Russia is able to continue to supply gas to Germany in its entirety” even in the absence of the documents, and its request was nothing other than “blackmail without technical justification”, have they added.
Ukraine had urged Ottawa not to accede to Berlin’s request, but the balance ultimately tipped in favor of Germany. Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, has granted a “revocable, time-limited permit” for the delivery of these discord turbines.
The Canadian-Ukrainian community also implored the Trudeau government not to bend.
On Saturday, the Congress of Ukrainian Canadians harshly criticized the waiver, a sign of “capitulation to Russian blackmail”, which will contribute to “the coffers of the Russian state budget continuing to be filled with European money which will be used to finance the Russian genocide against the Ukrainian people”.
And on Sunday, opponents of sending the turbines staged protests in Montreal and Ottawa. On the Montreal side, we gathered in front of City Hall and in front of the Siemens Canada facilities, on chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse.
The Conservatives castigate the Liberals
The Conservative Party criticized the pass to the sanctions regime against the Kremlin, and took the opportunity to reiterate that the solution to the energy upheavals caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine lies in the construction of infrastructure on Canadian soil.
“Instead of ignoring global sanctions meant to punish Putin, the Liberal government should approve new pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals so that Canadian natural gas can replace Russian energy supplies in Europe,” a trio said. of preservatives.
“Allow the return [des turbines] gas strike creates a dangerous precedent by bending to Putin’s blackmail on Europe, and will have a negative impact on Canada’s position on the world stage,” continued MPs Pierre Paul-Hus, Michael Chong and James Bezan.
They even go so far as to accuse Prime Minister Trudeau of being “more than favorable to Europe becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas” and of doing nothing “to prevent Russia from financing its violent and illegal war. in Ukraine with the profits of the energy it sells to Europe”.
The owner and operator of the 1,200 kilometer pipeline linking Russia and Germany, Gazprom, is on Canada’s list of companies targeted by economic sanctions. The company argued that in the absence of this equipment, a reduction in volume would be inevitable.
This version is disputed by the German authorities, who see it as a ploy deployed by Moscow to put pressure on Europe.