Ankara
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that no date has been fixed, but talks are going on and Putin is expected to visit in August. Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu Ajansı (AA) has given this information. Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul that the date was not clear, but the foreign minister, and the head of the intelligence organization, are all in talks.
Within the framework of these talks, I think the visit will take place in August as expected, Erdogan said. According to news agency AA, Erdogan’s statement came after a phone call with Putin on Wednesday. During the talks, they agreed that Putin would visit Turkey in the coming days. Erdogan also told Putin that Turkey would continue its intense efforts and diplomacy to resume the Black Sea grain deal.
Russia on July 17 reneged on a July 2022 deal with Turkey, the United Nations and Ukraine to restore grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Moscow protested that the Russian part of the agreement had not been followed. On Putin’s recent offer to send grain to African countries for free, Erdogan said, “We are with Russia on this issue, that is, we will turn grain coming from Russia through the Black Sea Corridor into flour and we will give this flour to the poor.” Will deliver to African countries and underdeveloped countries.
He said, even now Turkey will continue to take these steps and give its support and assistance to the poor countries. According to the statement, during a phone conversation on Wednesday, the two leaders also agreed on Putin’s visit to Turkey. Expressing that steps should not be taken to escalate tensions during the Russia-Ukraine war, President Erdogan underlined the importance of the Black Sea Initiative, which he considers a ‘bridge to peace’, the statement said.
The statement further said that no one would benefit from a prolonged closure of the Black Sea Initiative and that low-income countries and those in need of grain would suffer the most. President Erdogan pointed out that grain prices, which had decreased by 23 per cent during the implementation period, increased by 15 per cent in the past two weeks.
President Erdogan said that Turkey will continue its intense efforts and diplomacy to continue the Black Sea Initiative, the statement said. Erdogan also thanked his Russian counterpart for two amphibious fire-fighting aircraft sent by Russia to Turkey to fight against the forest fires. Erdogan expressed satisfaction at the growing interest of Russian tourists in Turkey and expressed confidence that this year’s tourism record will be broken through joint efforts.
