Turkish foreign minister discusses regional issues with Russian officials in Moscow

ANKARA

On the final day of his working visit to Russia, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday continued talks in the capital Moscow.

Fidan held a closed-door meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X, without giving further details.

On Thursday, Fidan met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues, particularly the Black Sea grain deal.

“With the intense efforts and contributions of our country, the UN has prepared a new proposal package. We think that this will be a suitable base for the revival of the initiative,” Fidan said at a news conference with Lavrov, confirming the importance of fulfilling Russia's demands for the export of its own grain and fertilizer.

Fidan's two-day working visit came ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia's coastal city of Sochi.

Currently, Türkiye continues its efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal and says that there is no alternative to the initiative.

On July 17, Russia suspended its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, brokered by Türkiye and the UN, to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports that were paused after the Ukraine war started in February 2022.

Moscow has repeatedly complained that the West has not met its obligations regarding Russia's own grain exports. It says restrictions on payments, logistics, and insurance have been a barrier to its shipments.

Ankara has been carrying out intense efforts for the restoration of the July 2022 deal and has also called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations.