Erdogan 'to visit Putin for Black Sea grain talks next week'

Reports say Turkish President could visit Russian leader in Sochi on September 8

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazakhstan in October, 2022. Turkish Presidential Press Service / AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "soon" visit Russia to discuss the lapsed Black Sea grain deal with President Vladimir Putin, a spokesman for Turkey's ruling party said on Monday.

Mr Erdogan will visit the Russian city of Sochi for talks about the looming global "food crisis" soon, said Omer Celik, the Justice and Development Party spokesman.

Bloomberg earlier quoted two unidentified Turkish officials as saying the meeting could take place on Friday, September 8.

Turkey has played a key role in mediating between Moscow and Kyiv since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Although Turkey is a member of the Nato alliance, which opposes Russia's invasion and whose members have provided arms and support to Ukraine, Mr Erdogan has used his country's good relations with both sides to take the role as mediator.

Ankara helped to negotiate the only major agreement signed since the outbreak of the war – the UN-backed deal to ship grain from Ukrainian ports across the Black Sea to avert a global food shortage.

Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of grain, and the deal initially helped to bring down global food prices, providing relief in African countries.

But Moscow withdrew from the agreement last month, citing the UN's non-compliance with provisions aimed at easing Russia's exports of agricultural products and fertiliser.

Ukraine's ports have since come under attack, with Russia warning it considers any ships in the Black Sea as potential military targets.

Kyiv has also attacked Russian targets around the Black Sea.

Mr Erdogan is expected to try to revive the grain deal in the talks next week.

Last week, he sent Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Kyiv to secure Ukrainian support for renewed talks.

Mr Fidan tried to persuade Ukraine to abandon a US-backed plan to set up a new route for exporting grain that does not involve Russia, AFP reported.

"We know alternative routes are being sought [for grain shipments], but we see no alternative to the original initiative because they carry risks," AFP quoted him as saying in Kyiv.

Mr Fidan is expected to visit Moscow this week but a date has not been confirmed.