Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the flow of natural-gas to Europe could be cut further due to equipment issues.
TheNord Stream 1 was shut down for maintenance last week and is due to restart on Thursday. Before the shutdown, state gas giant Gazprom had already cut gas flows to Germany via the pipeline to about 40% of its capacity, citing an equipment hold-up in Canada as a result of sanctions over the war inUkraine.
According to the Associated Press, Putin said on Wednesday that natural-gas flows could fall further if a turbine that was sent to Canada for repairs isn't replaced quickly. Roughly a third of all gas sent to Europe from Russia goes through the Nord Stream 1 route.
Putin said that if one of the two machines isn't returned, there will be one with 30 million gas meters.
On July 10, Canada said it would waive the sanctions and return the turbine that was repaired. The equipment couldn't be left in Canada because it didn't have the necessary paperwork.
The turbine was sent via plane to Germany where it will be loaded onto a vehicle and transported to Russia. According to the media outlet, the turbine is on its way to Russia.
One turbine is due for maintenance on July 26.
Europe is worried about a natural-gas shortage this winter. 40% of the country's natural-gas needs are dependent on Russia. The majority of fuel to Europe is delivered through a pipe.
The price of natural gas in Europe has more than doubled since the beginning of the year.
There are fears in Europe that the Nord Stream 1 will not come back online again after the work is done, but sources told reporters on Wednesday that the line will restart as scheduled.
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