Media reports on the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Erdogan in late August – early September

Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan may meet in late August or early September, A haber TV channel reports.

According to him, Erdogan expects the arrival of the President of the Russian Federation to Turkey, but if the visit does not take place, then “the trip” of the Turkish leader is not ruled out. The parties may discuss at the talks, according to the channel, the prospect of resuming the grain deal.

On August 2, Putin held telephone conversations with Erdogan, during which he announced Moscow’s readiness to return to the grain deal as soon as the West fulfills its second part. The Kremlin press service noted that in the absence of progress in the implementation of the Russian part of the deal, its next extension has lost its meaning. Erdogan and Putin also agreed on the visit of the President of the Russian Federation to Turkey. Erdogan expects the visit to take place in August. On August 10, the Turkish President announced that the solution to the issue of the grain deal depends from the fulfillment by Western countries of “their words”. In his opinion, the deal made it possible “to prevent a crisis that could cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.”

The grain 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. On July 17, 2023, Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Initiative, as the second part of the agreement remained unfulfilled.