Kremlin Declines to Comment on Reports of EU Sanctions Expansion Over Siemens

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on media reports stating that the European Union is going to expand sanctions against Russia because of the scandal around Siemens turbines allegedly delivered to Crimea.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Reuters earlier Friday quoted diplomatic sources as saying the EU would later in the day decide to expand sanctions against Russia over the Siemens scandal.

"This is not a reason for our reaction," Peskov told journalists when asked to comment on the report.

Late July, a source told Sputnik that Council of the European Union's Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) agreed to expand the list of anti-Russian individual sanctions on the initiative of Berlin. The source noted that the technical work on the relevant acts would follow.

In early July, Siemens created a task force team to investigate reports about the alleged transfer of turbines produced by Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies, a joint venture with the Russian Power Machines company, to the Crimean peninsula. On Friday, the company said that all four of its turbines intended for a project in Taman were illegally delivered to Crimea.

Siemens decided to annul a power plant equipment supply license agreement and suspend power equipment supplies to Russian state firms to devise new control measures, while Berlin promised a corresponding response to the violation of the agreements.

On July 11, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said that the new power plants in Crimea would be equipped with turbines manufactured in Russia and not with ones imported from the West. Commenting on the situation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that all products used in Crimea made in Russia.

Commenting on the issue, Russia's Technopromexport (TPE) company said it purchased turbines for Crimean power plants in the secondary market, with Russian engineering companies modernizing them.