The Canadian government has said it will allow equipment to be delivered to Germany from a key Russia-Europe gas pipeline that has undergone maintenance, the absence of which Russia's Gazprom cited last month as the reason for cutting gas supplies by more than half, AP reported.

The return of the turbines of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, sent to Montreal for scheduled repairs, is complicated by the sanctions imposed on Russia in connection with the situation around Ukraine. Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said that Canada will grant a time-limited and revocable authorization to Siemens Canada to allow the refurbished Nord Stream 1 turbines to return to Germany.

According to the Canadian minister, this will support Europe's ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas. He also noted that "without the necessary supplies of natural gas, the German economy will experience very significant difficulties.

After Gazprom began to cut gas supplies in mid-June, Siemens Energy said it was unable to return to the customer, Gazprom, a gas turbine that feeds a compressor station on the pipeline, which was overhauled after more than 10 years of operation.

German politicians dismissed the Russian explanation for the 60% reduction in gas flow through Nord Stream 1, saying the equipment was not supposed to become a major problem until autumn and that Russia's decision was a political gambit to sow uncertainty and push prices up.

Canada's actions followed before the shutdown of Nord Stream 1 due for annual maintenance. In previous summers, this work resulted in a shutdown of about 10 days, but German Vice-Chancellor and Economics Minister Robert Habeck said he suspected Russia may cite some minor technical detail as a reason not to resume gas supplies.