Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will hold talks in Moscow "in the nearest future," Tass news agency reported on Monday.
The visit comes after Fidan last week paid a working visit to Ukraine, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid efforts to revive the crucial Black Sea grain deal and discuss efforts to end the war.
The Black Sea grain deal, which was brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations in July 2022 to help alleviate a global food crisis, allowed grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports until Russia exited the deal last month, complaining that it was unable to export its own grain and fertilizer despite commitments made under the deal.
Fidan’s trip to Russia would constitute Ankara’s latest initiative to persuade Russia to return to the deal and precede a much-anticipated meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
As he confirmed Putin would hold talks with Erdoğan in person on the deal and other pressing issues, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “We usually synchronize announcements of such visits with our partner countries. We will announce shortly when and where it will take place. The meeting is being prepared and is being prepared very thoroughly.”
Putin told Erdoğan in a phone call on Aug. 2 that Moscow was ready to return to the Black Sea grain deal as soon as the West met its obligations regarding Russia's own grain exports.
Russia's grain and fertilizer exports are not subject to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine. But Moscow has said restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance have been a barrier to shipments.
Global grain prices have risen since Moscow let the deal expire on July 17, while Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian ports and grain storage facilities.
