Ukraine studying possible transit of Russian ammonia to preserve grain deal

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Ukraine would like to receive guarantees from Russia and the United Nations that the Black Sea grain deal will function uninterruptedly if Kiev agrees to resume the transit of Russian ammonia via Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yury Vaskov said.

"If this [ammonia transit] is a key issue, they, the UN, should say clearly that, if the ammonia pipeline resumes operations, Ukraine will have such opportunities [normalization of grain exports], and then our top political leadership will decide whether this meets our interests or not," Ukrainian media quoted Vaskov as saying, as reported by Western media.

In July 2022, the UN and Turkey acted as mediators between Russia and Ukraine in concluding the Black Sea Grain Initiative aimed at overcoming a global food crisis.

Russia agreed to extend the grain deal for another two months in May 2023, warning that the agreement would be terminated unless its terms concerning Russian grain and fertilizer exports were met. These include the resumption of ammonia transit via a pipeline from Russia's Togliatti via Ukrainian territory to Odessa's Yuzhny port, from where it is exported.

The shipments of ammonia (a key component of nitrogen fertilizers) via the pipeline were halted following February 24, 2022.

Russia's terms also include Rosselkhozbank's reconnection to the SWIFT international interbank messaging system.