Canada on Wednesday said it would revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia's biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany.
The pipeline, under the Baltic Sea, was shut down for repairs on Aug. 31, but never restarted, and then suffered major leaks later in September.
European governments suspect the pipeline ruptures along with that of another, called Nord Stream 2, were acts of sabotage. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Western claims that Russia was behind the explosions "crazy" and Moscow has in turn blamed the West.
"Putin has been forced to show that his intention was never to have Nord Stream 1 fully operational and that the pipeline itself has been rendered unusable," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a joint statement.
The decision was made after working closely with Ukraine, Germany and other European allies, they added.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had discussed "Europe’s energy security, in particular related to critical supply chains" with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, according to a readout from Trudeau's office.
Last month, Nord Stream AG, operator of the pipeline, updated the deadline for the unplanned outage at the Greifswald exit in Germany as April 1, 2023.
