Uralkali's Russian chief arrested in Belarus The chief executive of Uralkali was arrested in Minsk on Monday after being invited to a meeting with the Belarusian prime minister, in an escalation of the battle between the Russian potash producer and its former partner Belaruskali. Vladislav Baumgertner was being held on charges of "abusive exercise of power and abuse of office" in his role as chairman of the Belarusian Potash Company, a joint export cartel set up by Uralkali and Belaruskali, according to Belta, the Belarusian government news agency. Mr Baumgertner announced on July 30 that he was pulling Uralkali out of BPC, accusing the Belarusians of selling potash outside of their joint marketing scheme. In December Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, had cancelled BPC's exclusive right to export Belaruskali's production, undermining the cartel. Mr Baumgertner also said Uralkali would focus more on increasing volumes instead of sticking to higher prices, sending shares of the world's leading potash producers tumbling. Until then sales and prices of the fertiliser raw material had been largely set by BPC and by Canpotex of North America, which together controlled about 70 per cent of the world market. Uralkali said Mr Baumgertner had been invited to Minsk by premier Mikhail Myasnikovich, along with Alexander Voloshin, Uralkali's chairman, and Suleiman Kerimov, the billionaire who is the company's leading shareholder. Only Mr Baumgertner showed up for the meeting. "A meeting took place this morning and then he was unexpectedly detained at the airport," said a spokeswoman, adding that the company had appealed for help to the Russian government. When you receive an invitation from the prime minister of a country you think it will be quite safe. Igor Shuvalov, Russia's first deputy prime minister, called the situation "strange and inadequate," according to the Interfax news agency, and Russian officials in Minsk have asked for a meeting with Mr Baumgertner. Belarusian authorities have issued arrest warrants for four additional BPC executives. Pavel Traulko, a representative of the Belarusian Investigative Committee, the country's top law enforcement agency, said in a statement to Belta that the BPC managers had given "illegal discounts" to some buyers as well as favouring Uralkali production, allegedly causing $100m in damage to Belaruskali. Belarus has reacted with rage to Uralkali's decision to pull out of the export cartel. Last week, Valerii Kirienko, the chief executive of Belaruskali, insisted: "I will never agree to co-operate with Uralkali on their terms after what they have done." Belarus's fragile economy is heavily dependent on potash sales, which account for 8 per cent of exports. Mr Baumgertner had said the price of potash could fall to as low as $250 a tonne, down from about $400 a tonne. That would cause severe stress for Belarus, where exports are already falling sharply and the Belarusian rouble is slumping in value. Belarus was rescued from a previous crisis in 2011 thanks to a $3bn bailout largely from Russia.