Moscow (Union)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to offer a new mediation, during talks scheduled for this month with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to resume peace talks on Ukraine and a cease-fire, according to Russian reports quoting a source in the Turkish presidency. The source indicated that the Turkish president would offer his mediation in settling the conflict, adding: “As you know, Ankara has repeatedly supported reaching a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible, and sitting at the negotiating table.” A diplomatic source said that the resumption of the “Black Sea Grain Initiative” will be one of the main topics of possible talks between the Turkish president and his Russian counterpart in August.
The source added, “It is clear that one of the main issues during the Russian president’s possible visit to Turkey will be reviving the grain deal, and progress in this field will work to prevent an increase in grain prices after the suspension of the implementation of the Istanbul agreements,” according to the Russian news agency “Tass”.
The source said that the current situation affects countries most in need of agricultural products, and this problem must be resolved in parallel with Russia’s questions directed to the parties to the deal, adding that Ankara expects to reach an agreement with Russia.
For his part, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed his hope that a potential bilateral meeting between the two presidents would pave the way for reaching an agreement on renewing the deal for grain exports across the Black Sea. “Grain prices are on the rise, and this is the main problem,” Tajani said, in an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Stampa”.
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