Russia halts gas through major pipeline, citing maintenance

BERLIN (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom has halted the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe, a stoppage that it announced in advance and has said will last three days. The Russian state-owned energy company announced the closure of Nord Stream 1 in mid-August, citing maintenance at a compressor station — an explanation that German officials have cast doubt on. Gazprom says that work is necessary on the only remaining functioning turbine at the Portovaya station, at the Russian end of the pipeline. Gazprom started cutting supplies through Nord Stream 1 in mid-June. It cited technical problems that German authorities have dismissed as cover for a political power play.