Canada still plans to return five turbines that were used in the Russian gas pipeline, despite the fact that the pipeline operator refused to accept one turbine, which has already been returned to Germany. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, Melanie Joly, on the air of the CBC News Network..

In July, the government allowed six turbines undergoing maintenance in Montreal to be shipped back to Germany to be handed over to Russian state-owned Gazprom.. The monopolist operates the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which provides Germany and other European countries with natural gas.

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One turbine was returned to Germany, but Gazprom refused to accept it, citing technical problems and arguing that it would only take the turbine back if sanctions were lifted..

Despite the refusal of Gazprom, Joly said that Canada plans to return the remaining five turbines.

“It was a decision that we made in response to a request from Germany,” Joly stressed..

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Despite Ukrainian criticism, Canadian officials say the Kremlin would use the refusal to return the turbine to blame it for Europe's gas shortage..

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At the same time, the representative of Ukraine in Canada, Yulia Kovaliv, is convinced that Canada should cancel its decision to ease sanctions for the transfer of turbines to the Russian Federation.

“Our position is quite clear:

we really believe that this waiver of sanctions should be lifted immediately.. If the argument was to expose Putin's bluff, then it is already quite obvious to everyone that these are Russian games, ”the diplomat emphasized in a speech to Canadian deputies.

As reported, the Kremlin plans to keep vital gas flows to Europe at a minimum while the standoff over Ukraine continues.. At the same time, he will increase pressure on the European Union due to its tough sanctions position..