Technological products related to power generation and power industry placed in Crimea were made in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday, when commenting on reports on the supply of turbines allegedly produced by Germany’s Siemens for power plants in Crimea.
On Tuesday, Siemens filed lawsuits in Moscow’s Arbitration Courtagainst Russia’s Technopromexport (TPE) and a Siemens subsidiary, implicated in the alleged supply of its turbines to Russia’s Crimea, in spite of EU sanctions.
“Technological products related to power industry… are placed there [in Crimea]… Products whose country of origin is Russia are placed there,” Peskov said.
Peskov said earlier that the turbines installed at power plants in Crimea were made in Russia from Russian components, but Siemens proceeded to create a task force team to investigate reports about the transfers of turbines to Crimea.
Siemens spokesman Philipp Encz told earlier that the company does not have proof that the turbines in Crimea belong to the company, but has reasons to believe so. Siemens said earlier it had received information from reliable sources that at least two of the four gas turbines, supplied for a project in southern Russia’s Taman, had been moved to Crimea. The company said this development was a clear violation of supply contracts with Siemens, which ban the client from supplying equipment to Crimea.
Last week, 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. Last Saturday, a media report suggested that ZAO Interautomatika company partially owned by Germany’s Siemens had been hired to participate in installation of gas turbines in Crimea.
Russia is constructing two thermal power plants in Crimea, with the launch planned for early 2018. In June, media reported that Russia allegedly delivered electricity turbines produced by Siemens, and initially meant to be delivered to Taman in southern Russia, to Crimea despite EU sanctions that forbid EU companies to supply the region with energy technology.