The Kremlin said on Thursday that it hoped for the speedy return to service of a repaired turbine for Nord Stream 1.
The turbine has been the main player in a weeks-long saga about dwindling natural gas flows through the Russia's biggest gas pipeline to Europe., in what top German and European Union officials say is a politically motivated move by Moscow that is fuelling an energy crisis in Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that as soon as Russia received the turbine from Germany it will be re-installed at the Portovaya compressor station.
Moscow has repeatedly blamed the piece of equipment for the cuts to gas flows, denying that it is a response to Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
The turbine is important for creating the pressure needed to pump the gas through the pipeline, which delivers Russian gas to a terminal in northern Germany, according to Russian state energy giant Gazprom.
Gazprom and its contractor Siemens Energy are blaming each other for the hold-up. The two sides accuse each other of not providing the necessary documents to transport the turbine from Germany to Russia.
Gazprom reduced deliveries through Nord Stream 1 to 20% of maximum capacity on Wednesday, citing safety regulations.
The German government, on the other hand, accuses Russia of playing games and using gas as a geopolitical weapon.
The turbine in question had undergone repairs in Canada and was then trapped there by Western sanctions on Russia.
After pleas from Berlin, Ottawa granted an exemption earlier this month and the equipment was sent on to Germany and readied for onward transport to Russia, but has since been in limbo.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said the country was facing its "greatest energy crisis" ever - and blamed it on an over-dependence on Russian energy that has been growing for decades.
"Within months and just a few years we will ensure that we will overcome this dependence," Habeck said.
He pointed to the research and developments taking place in the field of hydrogen energy. "This is the future," Habeck said, although he also warned that the country will have to endure this winter and the next before new technologies can compensate for Russian energy imports.
Habeck warned that households face paying hundreds more for gas this coming winter as costs spiral while supply from Russia is throttled.
While adding that households in need would be supported amid the rising prices, he did not give details of how this would be managed.
