The delayed delivery of the Nord Stream 1 gas turbine, which is allegedly the reason for Gazprom’s decision to cut gas flows from the pipeline, has recently become the main point of a dispute between Germany and Russia.

Germany’s Olaf Scholz has pointed out that Russia delays taking back the gas turbine and resuming the normal operations of the pipeline.

Nord Stream 1 is the single biggest gas pipeline transferring crucial supplies to Europe – Russia cut gas supplies to just 20% of capacity last week.

After finishing his visit to the Siemens Energy site where the gas turbine is kept after its maintenance, the German Chancellor said: “At Siemens Energy, I could see with my own eyes: the serviced turbine is there and ready for use at any time.

“It only has to be requested from Russia. So there are no technical reasons for reducing gas supplies.”

In an announcement, Gazprom said: “The sanctions regimes imposed by Canada, the EU and the UK, as well as the discrepancy between the current situation and the existing contractual obligations on the part of Siemens, are making it impossible to bring the 073 engine to the Portovaya compressing station.”