On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Ukrainian sabotage group had blown up the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Kharkov Region, adding that there are casualties among the civilian population. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the explosion will complicate the extension of the grain deal.
"As you know, UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] has recently come up with various ideas and initiatives regarding ammonia. Now, essentially, a blow has been dealt to all these ideas and initiatives. The realistic prospect of the ammonia pipeline's restoration and launch has been pushed back for a very long time," Vershinin said following talks at the UN headquarters in Geneva.
The diplomat called the attack yet another example of Kiev's "unreasonable, irrational and criminal" policies. UN representatives could not explain what prompted Kiev to carry out the attack, he added.
"This terrorist act essentially has put an end to the predictability of the resumption of ammonia exports from Togliatti to Ukrainian ports," Vershinin said.
Additionally, the official said that exports of ammonia were crucially important for Africa, Asia and South America, adding that the international community should not ignore the incident.
On Friday, Geneva hosted a new round of talks between Russia, represented by Vershinin, and the UN, represented by Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development Rebeca Grynspan, on the memorandum on Russian agricultural exports within the UN-brokered grain deal.
In mid-May, the grain deal was extended until July 17 without any changes. The Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that Moscow would block the deal's extension if its concerns about the implementation of clauses concerning Russian agricultural exports are not addressed, including the relaunch of the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline.
The grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye in July 2022 to facilitate the export of agricultural products from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea during hostilities. The package agreement also included a memorandum of understanding between Russia and the United Nations to unblock Russian grain and fertilizer exports via the Black Sea.