(Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday that Ukrainians would never accept Canada’s decision to return a gas turbine intended for a Russian pipeline because it would encourage more sanctions violations.
Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that he had talked to Trudeau earlier and thanked him for his support. “However I stressed separately that Ukrainians will never accept Canada’s decision regarding the Nord Stream turbine,” he said. Handing it to Germany violated sanctions, he added.
Trudeau said on Wednesday that it was a “very difficult decision” to grant an exemption from sanctions imposed on Russia for the return of the repaired turbine, needed for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
But Zelenskiy, echoing earlier remarks by other Ukrainian officials, said Russia was engaging in blackmail with gas. “If there is one violation now, it is only a matter of time before there will be others,” he said.
(Reporting by Elaine Monaghan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
