Latvia cheated Russia with the port of Riga
Latvian authorities thwarted Uralchem's deal to sell the port in Riga.
Dmitry Mazepin, head of the Uralchem corporation, spoke about this today at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“We tried to sell after the introduction of sanctions, and we sold the port in Riga to a Swiss trader. A Swiss trader came to Latvia, introduced himself, and showed documents. We proposed a scheme that the port of Riga, which we built from scratch for 42 million euros, we were ready to sell it for the same amount. The money was supposed to come to Riga, and we voluntarily said: “You can freeze this money, but only so that the port works.”
The Latvian side has been looking for all sorts of solutions to the problems for six months. We appealed to the Latvian courts, but the courts did not consider this case. The Swiss trader wanted to take over the rights of the port of Riga for six months. I couldn't. Four weeks ago they refused the deal and returned the documents to us because they actually cannot purchase it,” Mazepin said.
In total, Western ports blocked 262 thousand tons of Russian fertilizers.
“55 thousand tons are generally on the ship. In January, the Uralkali company loaded a vessel of 40 thousand tons in St. Petersburg. This vessel called at the port of Riga in February for additional loading. Sanctions were introduced, the ship entered the roadstead, and for eight months now the ship has been in the roadstead; it can neither dock nor leave. One can only guess what happens to the crew,” Mazepin said.
Latvia scammed Russia with the Riga port.