Canada decided on Saturday to deliver to Germany a turbine necessary to operate the Russian gas pipeline "Nord Stream 1," to ease the energy crisis with Russia, despite Ukraine's plea not to "succumb to Kremlin blackmail."

Ukraine urged Canadians not to return the turbine, which is currently under maintenance at a facility near Montreal in Canada belonging to the German company "Siemens."

Last month, the Russian "Gazprom" justified the reduction of supplies to Germany, which is suffering a severe energy crisis, by its need for the turbine.

Canadian Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, "Canada will grant Siemens Canada a revocable and time-limited permit to return the repaired Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany, which would support Europe's ability to access reliable and affordable energy."

He explained in a statement, "Without the necessary natural gas supplies, the German economy will face very serious difficulties and Germans may not be able to heat their homes as winter approaches."

The Canadian minister accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to "sow division among allies."

The German government has been holding "intensive contacts" for weeks with Ottawa to return this equipment to Europe despite the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Germany proposed, to facilitate the decision for Canadians "in a legal sense," that Ottawa send the turbine to Berlin instead of Russia, fearing that Moscow might completely stop the gas flow soon.

Berlin was not convinced by the technical reason given by Gazprom to justify the reduction in gas shipments, and considered that sending the turbine would deprive Moscow of any excuse to keep supplies far below normal levels, which could cause a major energy crisis.

Ukraine sees that Ukrainian gas pipelines are capable of transporting sufficient gas to Germany to compensate for the reduction in Russian shipments.

Serhiy Makogon, CEO of the Ukrainian Gas Transmission System, said, "We must not succumb to Kremlin blackmail."