Grain deal: Türkiye preparing for Putin-Erogan meeting

Türkiye intensified talks with Ukraine, the United States and the European Union on the grain deal in preparation for a possible meeting between Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a diplomatic source said.

"Türkiye has increased multilateral diplomatic efforts with Ukraine, the United States, and the European Union in relation to the grain deal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Trade are all involved in the work. Before the meeting between Erdogan and Putin, work has intensified to eliminate the problems confronting the grain initiative's implementation," the source told TASS.

Meanwhile, the Turkish newspaper reported that if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not visit Türkiye, Erdogan will travel to Russia instead.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the date and location for a meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were under consideration and would be agreed upon through diplomatic channels. 

A package of documents geared to resolve the problem of food and fertilizer supplies on global markets was signed on July 22, 2022 in Istanbul and extended several times after that before ultimately expiring on July 17. Russia refused to extend it again because the part of the deal envisaging the removal of obstacles for Russian agricultural exports was never implemented.