A turbine whose absence for repairs Moscow blames for the drop in flows from the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline is stuck in transit in Germany, as Russia has so far not given the go-ahead for its return transport, two said. people familiar with the matter.

The turbine, which normally operates at Russia’s Portovaya compression station, had been shipped to Canada for maintenance, but was transported back to the German city of Cologne on July 17 by logistics company Challenge Group, said one of the people.

At this time it is not clear when the turbine can be returned, the two people said, adding that this could still take days or even weeks.

The transport back to Germany came after weeks of consultations between Berlin and the Canadian government over whether such a move would violate Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Last month, Moscow cut the transit capacity of Nord Stream 1 by 60%, citing the delay in the return of the turbine served by German electrical equipment company Siemens Energy.

Russia reopened the pipeline on Thursday after a scheduled 10-day maintenance shutdown, although flows returned to low volume.

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