MOSCOW (Reuters) - Technopromexport, a Russian state-owned firm which is building power plants in Crimea, said on Thursday it had bought four electricity turbines for the project on the secondary market.
Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources, that Russia had delivered turbines made by Germany's Siemens to Crimea, a region subject to European Union sanctions barring EU firms from supplying it with energy technology.
Technopromexport did not say on Thursday who the turbines it had bought on the secondary market were made by or who it bought them from. It said the turbines had been modernized by specialized Russian factories and engineering companies.
Technopromexport added it had earlier failed to reach an agreement to buy turbines made by Iranian company MAPNA.
Building the power plants in Crimea is a prestige project for Russia, since President Vladimir Putin promised to ensure a stable power supply for the region's residents after it was annexed by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014.
A spokesman for Siemens in Munich earlier told Reuters that Siemens had not delivered turbines to Crimea.
The spokesman did not answer written questions asking whether Siemens was aware that Siemens turbines had been shipped to Crimea and whether it would now be activating or servicing them.