Media: Siemens considers leaving Russia
The German company, Siemens, is considering the possibility of abandoning its assets in Russia due to the delivery of turbines to the Crimea, as reported on Friday, July 14th, by German business weekly, Wirtschaftswoche, citing sources in Siemens.
It is noted that the CEO of Siemens AG, Joe Kaeser, is considering not only the possibility of withdrawing from Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies - a joint venture with Russian company, Power Machines, that assembled turbines, but also leaving the Russian company, Interavtomatika. "The working group is currently reviewing the situation," Wirtschaftswoche interlocutors noted.
Previously, the media reported that Interautomatica has retrofitted the Siemens turbines in such a way that they can no longer be identified as manufactured by a German company. Siemens, however, denies this.
The German corporation sold four gas turbines to Technopromexport in 2015. Both companies claimed that this equipment would be transported to the Taman Peninsula, separated from the Crimea by the Kerch Strait.
The day before, Siemens confirmed that the turbines were delivered to the Crimea and not Taman "against the will" of the company. The German company filed an action with the Moscow Arbitration Court against the Russian state-owned company Technopromexport, which is building power stations in the Crimea, demanding the return of gas turbines that were delivered bypassing sanctions against the Russian-annexed peninsula.
In 2014, the EU banned Eurozone companies from doing business with the Crimea.