Russian Company Admits Supplying Siemens Turbines to Annexed Crimea

28 July 2017 19:34

The company Tekhnopromeksport (TEP) – a subsidiary of Russian state technology corporation Rostec – has acknowledged the fact that modernized Siemens gas turbines were supplied to annexed Crimea, reports Russian media group RBC Information System.

A Russian state company has acknowledged that it delivered modernized Siemens gas turbines to the occupied Crimean peninsula, the RBC news site reported.

The company, Tekhnopromeksport (TEP), is a subsidiary of Russian state technology corporation Rostec and, formerly, a partner of German conglomerate Siemens in Russia.

“As of today, the turbines have been modernized and adjusted to meet the specific requirements of the [Crimean] project," TEP acknowledged in a statement.

“In this case, Russian know-how was used to purchase additional equipment. The company has incurred costs for the equipment's transportation, installation and certification,” a TEP representative said.

TEP also claimed it made previous attempts to sell the turbines back to the German company, but Siemens refused the offer.

On July 5, Reuters revealed that Russia had violated EU sanctions by diverting the delivery of four Siemens gas turbines to Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

Siemens subsequently denied supplying Crimea the four turbines, claiming that they were delivered to Taman, a rural town in the Krasnodor region of Russia. The turbines were then illegally transported to the Crimean peninsula, the company claimed.

Soon thereafter, Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche reported that Putin personally promised Berlin not to import Siemens turbines to Crimea.

After investigating whether Russia had transferred its equipment to the annexed peninsula, Siemens announced that it would halt the sale of turbines to Russian state companies and sell its 46 percent stake in Interautomatika, the company that handled the turbines’ installation.

As a result of the Siemens scandal, Germany called on the European Union to widen sanctions against Russia. According to RFE/RL, on July 26, EU ambassadors agreed to impose these restrictions on an additional four Russian individuals and three Russian companies.

/ Translated and adapted by Eilish Hart