Russian ammonia may return to Odesa Port Plant

The UN is  pushing Ukraine and Russia to restore the operation of the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline. The organization wants to restore the export of ammonia through the Black Sea as part of the “grain initiative”.

Ammonia is the main ingredient in the production of nitrate fertilizers. Its shortage on the market causes price increases and risks of a food crisis in a number of countries.

Ukraine has a single ammonia pipeline “Tolyatti-Odesa”, the end point of which is the Odesa port plant. Until February 24, through Odesa Port Plant, ammonia produced by the Russian PJSC “Tolyattiazot” and JSC “Minudobreniya” was exported. The enterprises are owned by Russian oligarchs Dmitry Mazepin and Arkady Rotenberg, respectively.

Deliveries through Odesa Port Plant stopped on February 24, in connection with the beginning of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Recently, the President of the Russian Federation, Putin, began to threaten the disruption of the Istanbul Agreements, so the UN wants to restore the export of Russian ammonia.

This is reported by the Financial Times. The information was confirmed by the representative of the UN, Rebecca Greenspan.

“The negotiations are moving in the right direction and all parties at every level are making every effort to ensure a positive outcome,” she said. According to her, the negotiations are taking place “urgently” in order to prevent a “food crisis in the whole world” in the coming years.

If the parties reach an agreement on the export of Russian ammonia through Ukraine, the cargo will be sent through the same corridor through which Ukrainian grain is currently exported.

However, despite the difficult situation on the global fertilizer market, attempts to unite Ukraine and Russia in the issue of joint exports to third countries are dangerous. Equating the victim and the aggressor, as well as their cooperation, can affect the perception of the war in Western countries, where they already “sin” by popularizing images of Ukrainians and Russians embracing.