Ukraine is imposing non-commercial conditions to resume the flow of ammonia via a major pipeline, a Russian fertilizer company said on Wednesday.
The Black Sea grain deal included a provision on the transportation of ammonia -- a crucial ingredient in many commercial fertilizer -- through the pipeline between the Russian city Tolyatti and Ukraine's port of Odesa, said Dmitry Mazepin, the chairman of one of the world's biggest manufacturers of mineral fertilizers, Uralchem Group.
'The Russian side is ready, the pipeline on the Russian side is serviceable. We have data that it can also work on the Ukrainian side. But, the Ukrainian side puts forward a number of political conditions on which we aren't competent and with which we can't work,' Mazepin said in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
According to Mazepin, all commercial issues, including issues related to payments, have been resolved, with the international Trammo Group ready to purchase the ammonia produced in Russia and then transport it overseas via Ukraine.
However, he claimed that after Russia agreed to extend the landmark grain deal last week, the UN halted efforts to settle the issue of ammonia transportation with Ukraine.
Mazepin also asked Putin to help unblock Russian fertilizer exports from ports in Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, and the Netherlands, where over 410,000 tons cargo owned by three Russian fertilizer producers have been frozen, including 262,000 tons belonging to Uralchem.
He added that 55,000 more tons of cargo were on a ship stuck at a roadstead for eight months since the sanctions were imposed, unable to either dock or sail away. 'We can only speculate about what is happening to the crew,' he added.
Mazepin said the company asked the UN and the African Union to help unblock the shipments so they could be delivered free of charge to countries that need them in Africa, alleging that Western countries would not give the green light even for humanitarian transportation.
Sanctions prohibit vessels from transporting Russian freight, as well as their insurance and related payments, he said.
The sanctions were imposed on individuals working at a company, not the companies themselves, he noted, adding that despite the fact that these sanctioned individuals have sold their company shares, banks continue to block payments.
Difficulties with payments in dollars and euros have also push companies to use other currencies, with the Chinese yuan currently being the most suitable for such transactions.
Mazepin also expressed hope that Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which make up the BRICS economic bloc will one day introduce an international currency of their own.
For his part, Putin said Moscow was in contact with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and relevant UN structures.
He also said leaders of several African countries asked him for fertilizer deliveries and that barring humanitarian cargo was 'unacceptable.'
By Elena Teslova
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr