Erdogan announced preparations for Putin’s visit to Turkey in August

Türkiye is preparing for the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in August. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced this writes Haberturk.

“We are preparing to receive Mr. Putin in August. We agree to the extension of this Black Sea Grain Corridor. From the UN, Mr. Guterres sent a letter to Mr. Putin. I hope that with this letter we will ensure the extension of the grain corridor, through our joint efforts and Russia,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan had previously reported that Putin was due to visit Turkey in August. However, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov pointed outthat the date of the talks between the two leaders has not yet been determined.

Turkish leader counts personally discuss with the Russian colleague the transfer of the commanders of the Ukrainian Azov battalion (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned) to Kyiv. He announced this on July 12 during a press conference following the NATO summit in Vilnius. At the same time, presidents can discuss the purchase of several Russian amphibious aircraft to fight forest fires.

In Vilnius, Erdogan also said that Putin had made some proposals on the grain deal, which are now being discussed. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov notedthat he is not aware of any new proposals on this topic.

On July 7, a meeting between Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took place in Istanbul, after which the Turkish president said that he would like to extend the grain deal after July 17. According to Erdogan, the extension of the grain initiative is being discussed with Russia, and Ukraine has declared its readiness to “do everything in its power” from it. On July 10, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Moscow had not changed its position on the deal after the meeting between Erdogan and Zelensky.

The deal was concluded on July 22, 2022 by representatives of Turkey and the UN, on the one hand, and representatives of Russia and Ukraine, on the other. As part of the negotiations, two agreements were signed between Moscow and Kiev. The first is for the export of Ukrainian grain from three ports, including Odessa, Yuzhny and Chornomorsk, the second is for assistance in the export of Russian grain and fertilizers. The Kremlin previously stated that the Russian part of the agreements on the grain deal is still not being implemented, and therefore there are no grounds for its extension.