It is necessary to check whether anti-Russian sanctions were violated in the alleged Siemens supply of turbines to Crimea.
In the situation with the alleged supply to Crimea of turbines made by German company Siemens, it is necessary to check whether sanctions were violated, the German Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Wednesday.
“First of all, it is necessary to check whether there is any violation of sanctions. This check is being conducted by competent authorities,” the ministry spokesman said.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Russia delivered turbines produced by Siemens to Crimea despite EU sanctions that forbid EU companies to supply the region with energy technology. Siemens spokesman Michael Friedrich told Sputnik that the company did not supply Crimea with electricity turbines in circumvention of EU sanctions. On Saturday, the media reported that ZAO Interautomatika company partially owned by Germany’s Siemens had been hired to participate in installation of gas turbines in Crimea.
Following Crimea’s reunification with Russia as a result of a referendum in 2014, the European Union introduced rounds of political and economic sanctions against Russia, restricting in particular the flows of EU produced goods and investments to the peninsula. In June 2017, the European Union extended the sanctions for another six months.