While the exact list of topics to be discussed has not been officially announced, Peskov stated in early August that the agenda of an in-person meeting between the two presidents would include bilateral relations, the Ukraine conflict, and the Black Sea grain deal.
Erdogan’s office has also confirmed that the Turkish leader has plans to visit Sochi, but has not confirmed the exact date, noting that the “final decision is made by the president.”
While Moscow and Ankara have remained in close contact, this will be the first time Putin and Erdogan have met face-to-face since October 13, 2022, in Astana, Kazakhstan, when they agreed to construct a gas infrastructure hub in Türkiye.
Türkiye, despite being a member of NATO, has maintained close ties with Russia and has refused to uphold Western sanctions on Moscow.
Instead, Ankara has repeatedly offered itself up as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine and hosted peace talks between the two sides in March 2022, shortly after the conflict broke out.
A personal meeting between Putin and Erdogan has apparently been in the works since July, when Russia terminated the Black Sea Grain Initiative – a deal brokered by the UN and Türkiye that facilitated the delivery of Ukrainian grain to world markets and was supposed to lift the embargo on Russian agricultural products in exchange.
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