Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayip Erdogan in the Russian city of Sochi, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
According to the spokesman, the meeting will effectively take place on Monday and will serve to, among other bilateral issues, discuss the conflict in Ukraine and the resumption of grain export agreements across the Black Sea.
This will be the first meeting between the two presidents after Moscow’s exit, last July, from the pact for the export of grain through the Black Sea, the previous one having taken place on October 13 last year in Astana.
The summit in Sochi takes place days after the Russian-Turkish negotiations at the level of foreign ministers hosted by Moscow this week.
Türkiye considers that there is no alternative to the Black Sea Initiative, which operated for a year.
Meanwhile, Moscow wants to propose to Ankara the supply of 1 million tons of Russian grain at a reduced price so that the grain can be processed in Turkish enterprises and then shipped to the neediest countries.
This Russian proposal, with the financial support of Qatar, is an initiative of the Russian president and Moscow considers it “an optimal alternative to the Black Sea agreement” for the export of Ukrainian grain and Russian grain and fertilizers.
