MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. There can be no talk about another extension of the Black Sea Initiative after July 17 until the problem around Russian ammonia is resolved, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said in a commentary distributed on Thursday.
"Almost a year after the signing of the Istanbul package, the export of Russian ammonia has not been arranged - neither through Ventspils (port in Latvia - TASS), nor through Yuzhny (port of Odessa - TASS). In general, problems associated with the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions targeting bank payments, transport logistics, insurance, frozen assets, and so on remain and are being exacerbated," the Deputy Minister said.
"Without solving this problem, as well as the four others that I mentioned, we are not even talking about adding ports and expanding the range of Ukrainian exports, but about further continuation of the Black Sea initiative after July 17 in principle," the diplomat said.
The senior diplomat noted that the United Nations Secretariat continues to speculate on the topic of Russian ammonia, trying to make it look like some kind of new efforts are being made.
"Moreover, the lack of any results is evident - the ammonia pipeline has not been working," he added.
Vershinin also drew attention to the fact that Kiev is trying to bargain for additional benefits for itself by setting preconditions for the export of Russian ammonia.
"Our position remains unchanged - the export of ammonia is part of the existing agreements and was supposed to begin simultaneously with the transportation of Ukrainian grain. This is fully consistent with the goals declared by Antonio Guterres to ensure global food security, and there is no room for any additional requirements. We have repeatedly stated this position to UN members, as well as representatives of Turkey and Ukraine as parties to the Black Sea initiative, including during the meeting in Istanbul on May 10-11," the Deputy Foreign Minister concluded.