Canada's return of turbine 'removes excuse' for Gazprom to not send gas to Germany: Trudeau

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to Canada is to foster business ties between the two countries, but that was overshadowed at a press conference Monday in Montreal by Russia's war with Ukraine.

Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to "divide" allies like Germany and Canada but he has failed and faces "unprecedented sanctions" as Moscow's military operation in Ukraine extends into its sixth month.

That support has been questioned by the controversial return -- against Ukraine's wishes because it contravened sanctions against Moscow -- of a repaired gas turbine by Canada to allow Russia to send gas to Germany. The turbine, which was undergoing repair at a Siemens Canada facility in Montreal, was a key component in Russia’s Nord Stream pipeline.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that sending the turbine overseas -- a Canadian company was the only one that could repair it -- tipped Putin's hand.

Putin wanted to "blame anyone else like Canada" as Russia broke contracts and drastically reduced gas supplies to Germany to divide allies, but the return of the turbine "removed the excuse" for cutting gas exports, Trudeau said.