MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russia’s relevant ministries and companies are working on new routes for Russian fertilizer supplies to global markets, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, Alexey Polishchuk, told TASS in an interview.
"In seeking to resume the operation of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, we proceeded from the fact that agreements should be respected. <…> Of course, there are alternative routes for Russian fertilizer supplies to global markets. Our relative ministries and companies are working on these routes and their logistics," he said.
According to the senior Russian diplomat, fertilizer exports are a key element of the grain deal.
"Why are ammonia and the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline so vital? Ammonia is essential for the production of fertilizers without which agricultural output is impossible in many countries," Polishchuk explained. "And the Togliatti-Odessa pipeline is a unique route, the world’s longest, that is 2,417 km long. Previously, more than 2 million metric tons of ammonia were pumped through it annually, an amount enough to feed over 45 million people," he added.
The sabotage of the ammonia pipeline dealt a major blow to the food safety of the Global South, Polishchuk lamented.