Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow will prepare the ground for the meeting between the two leaders Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"The issues we will discuss will prepare the ground for the upcoming meeting between the two leaders. We will discuss resuming the grain deal and establishing a just peace in Ukraine through diplomatic means. In addition, the situations in Syria and the South Caucasus will be on the agenda. I thank my dear friend [Sergey Lavrov] for his hospitality and warm welcome," he said in his opening remarks before the talks began.
Fidan recalled that this is his first visit to Moscow as Turkey's foreign minister, a post he assumed in the new government formed by Erdogan following his victory in the June 2023 election. Prior to that, Fidan served as head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization since 2010.
Turkish authorities have not yet announced an official date for Erdogan's visit to Russia. Earlier, a diplomatic source told TASS that the meeting between Erdogan and Putin is likely to be held in Sochi on September 4. On Wednesday, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin would officially announce the dates of Erdogan's visit to Russia soon.
The agenda of the meeting between the two presidents will include the grain deal, with Ankara seeking to extend the agreement in its previous form, and the Ukraine crisis. Turkey has repeatedly offered its mediation services on the latter issue.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS
Based on materials from TASS