EuroChem not planning to sell plant in Lithuania, expects to get it out from under sanctions - CEO

ST. PETERSBURG. June 17 (Interfax) - EuroChem does not plan to sell its Lifosa plant in Lithuania, which has been put under temporary administration, the Russian fertilizer producer's CEO, Sergei Tverdokhleb told Interfax on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"This is a very high quality, good plant. We, of course, have not lost it, because EuroChem remains the owner of the plant and property cannot be taken away other than through the courts. Under the Lithuanian law on sanctions, a temporary administration has been invited to the plant. We are carefully assessing and monitoring its activities at the plant so that it does not lead to direct damages for the enterprise, for the area, because this is environmentally hazardous production [...] And we nonetheless expect a professional approach in this sense and that the plant will continue to operate," Tverdokhleb said.

Asked about the possibility of selling this business, he recalled that the asset is frozen. "It can't be sold just like that, because as an asset it is frozen," he said.

"Therefore, we will successively demonstrate that the plant should not be subject to sanctions and this is our legal position, that sanction restrictions should not apply to the plant itself, like to the company as a whole. Like, by the way, to other companies owned by Russian shareholders who are personally subject to sanctions. Well, and at some point we will already enter legal discussions and discussions at the level of the European Commission, and so on," Tverdokhleb said.

"We don't intend to lose this business, because this is our property, in which many, many tens of millions of dollars have been invested," he added.