Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally condemns Canada for its decision to grant a Canadian company a “revocable, time-limited permit” allowing them to return turbines from a Russian pipeline supplying natural gas to Germany.
Zelenskyy said Canada’s decision was more than wrongly deciding to hand over the turbines, but was an “absolutely unacceptable exception to the sanctions regime against Russia.”
“If a terrorist state can squeeze out such an exception to sanctions, what exceptions will it want tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? This question is very dangerous,” Zelenskyy he said in a video Y attached statement on Monday, which also stated that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry “had to summon the representative of Canada to our country”.
“The decision on the exception to sanctions will be perceived in Moscow exclusively as a manifestation of weakness. This is their logic. And now, there can be no doubt that Russia will try not only to limit as much as possible, but to completely shut down supply of gas to Europe at the most critical moment,” he continued.
The turbines, part of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, had been shipped to Siemens Canada in Montreal for repair, but once the federal government imposed sanctions on Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom, the company was prevented from returning the equipment.
Canada faced pressure from Russia and Germany to return the turbines, fearing the risk of further energy instability. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s weekend announcement of the permit was met with support from the United States.
However, the move has been strongly condemned by Ukraine, the Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, as well as federal opposition parties. Opponents have warned it could set a dangerous precedent, further emboldening Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to use European countries’ energy dependency as leverage.
“Of course, this decision on a turbine, which leads to many other problems, can still be reviewed. Russia has never followed the rules in the energy sector and will not play now unless it sees strength,” Zelenskyy said, continuing. to mention the latest Russian attacks and offer condolences to the family and friends of the latest Ukrainians killed as a result.
The Ukrainian president then returned to the pipeline controversy, saying that: “In this context, it is a pity to see people who lack the courage to honestly deal with a turbine.”
Wilkinson has stood by the decision to return the pipeline components, say when the announcement was made that allied countries “cannot allow” Putin’s attempts to use European energy security to sow division among the allies to succeed.
“Canada stands with Ukraine against Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion and we will continue to work in coordination with allies and partners to impose severe costs on the Russian regime,” Wilkinson said.