Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending his government’s decision to allow the return of turbines to Russian energy giant Gazprom as Ukraine renews calls for Canada to back down.
Ukraine has called on Trudeau and his government to reverse their decision to exempt Siemens Canada from sanctions against Russia so it can repair six turbines for use in a pipeline that supplies natural gas to Germany.
A turbine already repaired at Siemens’ Montreal plant was delivered to Germany and was to go to Gazprom, which operates the pipeline, but the Russian company refused to accept it.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Montreal today, Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Russia of trying to use the issue as cover for recent gas export cuts through the pipeline.
The two leaders also alleged that Moscow hoped to pit Canada and Germany against each other and deflect public anger at the resulting rise in energy prices.
Yet while they claimed to have effectively called Russia’s bluff, as evidenced by Gazprom’s refusal to take the turbine, Trudeau avoided questioning whether his government would now block the import, repair and return of five other turbines.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 22, 2022.