The German government accused Russia on Wednesday of using the absence of a turbine as an "excuse" to limit gas deliveries due to go back online this week via a key pipeline.

"I would like to stress that according to our information, this is an excuse by the Russian side," a German economy ministry spokesperson told reporters when asked about the reduced flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Meanwhile, Russian energy giant Gazprom maintains that it has not received official documents from Siemens to allow the turbine’s delivery for Nord Stream 1, and it understood that the turbine’s return guarantee and overhaul of other engines directly affected the pipeline's operation.

(With input from AFP)