FEODOSIA, Crimea (Reuters) -
Two more gas turbines appear to have been delivered to
Russian-controlled Crimea, according to two Reuters reporters who saw
the equipment at the port of Feodosia, potentially deepening a row
over sanctions compliance in which Germany's Siemens has become
embroiled.
Reuters has no independent
confirmation the equipment on the dock was Siemens-made turbines. It
comprised four cylindrical objects, several meters long, and covered
with blue and gray tarpaulins.
Their dimensions and shape
match publicly-available photographs of Siemens gas turbine systems,
which each consist of two major components: the turbine itself and a
generator.
Siemens said earlier this week
that at least two of a total of four turbines it sold to Russian
state firm Technopromexport had been delivered to Crimea against its
wishes and without its knowledge. Russia seized the region from
Ukraine in 2014 and it is now subject to European sanctions on energy
technology.
The German company filed a
lawsuit against Technopromexport in Moscow on Tuesday requiring it to
return the turbines to their original destination, Taman,
Munich-based spokesman Wolfram Trost said.
Taman, in southern Russia, is
not subject to sanctions.
On Wednesday, Yashar Azad, a
spokesman for Siemens at its Bavarian headquarters, said the company
was still trying to establish all the facts, including the location
of the two other turbines, and had nothing to add to its previous
statements.
When asked about the
situation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call
with reporters on Thursday that the gas turbines being installed in
Crimea were of Russian origin.
"Equipment related to the
power sector is indeed being installed there (in Crimea). The
equipment being installed there is of Russian origin," said
Peskov.
Technopromexport, the Russian
state company building the Crimean power plants, and Russia's energy
ministry, declined to comment.
Asked if the pieces of
equipment at the port were Siemens turbines, a government official in
Crimea told Reuters: "Come on, we can't talk about that. You
understand: sanctions, Siemens."
"Of course, this whole
story is going to come out, but let it come out without us,"
said this source, who did not want to be identified because of the
sensitivity of the issue.
If
the equipment that arrived in Feodosia is Siemens-made, it would show
that Russia is pressing ahead with its plan, despite the Siemens
lawsuit and a warning this week from the German government that the
use of Siemens turbines in Crimea could harm future German investment
in Russia.
In
the early hours of Thursday morning, two low-loader trucks carrying
two of the pieces of equipment emerged from the port and set off in
the direction of the Crimean city of Simferopol.
Russia
plans to install Siemens turbines at a power plant under construction
in Simferopol, three sources close to the project told Reuters
earlier this month.
The
slow-moving convoy was escorted by police vehicles, and police
officers in body armor walked alongside the trucks on either side.
Police and state security agents prevented a Reuters journalist from
following the convoy.
The
turbines affair has shone a harsh spotlight on how serious the
European Union, its member states, and European companies are about
enforcing the sanctions, imposed on Russia after it annexed Crimea
from Ukraine in 2014.
Siemens
said on Monday it did everything possible to ensure compliance with
sanctions.
Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-crimea-siemens-turbine-idUSKBN19X2Z9?il=0
