Putin and Erdogan to meet on grain deal in Russia
Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are going to hold a meeting in Russia. The Turkish leader himself will come for talks with the president of Russia, Yeni Şafak reports, citing sources in the administration of the Turkish leader. According to the sources of Realnoe Vremya, the meeting of the top officials of the states may take place in Kazan and the rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, conveyed the invitation during a meeting last weekend in Hungary on the sidelines of the official event on the occasion of the Hungarian national holiday — National Foundation Day.
Where the Russian and Turkish leaders will meet
According to Turkish media, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are agreeing to meet in Russia to discuss the grain deal. According to the sources of Realnoe Vremya, the meeting may take place in Kazan.
Earlier, Sabah newspaper reported that the Russian leader and his Turkish counterpart could hold a meeting in Russia, without naming a possible date and place of the meeting. In turn, the chief adviser to the President of Turkey, Akif Chagatai Kilic, said that Ankara continues to prepare for Putin's upcoming visit, CNN Turk reports.
But yesterday another Turkish edition, Yeni Şafak, citing sources in the administration of the Turkish president, reported that Erdogan himself would come to Russia for talks with Putin.
Rustam Minnikhanov has met with the Turkish leader several times, including during the visit to Turkey in 2016 or 2021. Meanwhile, Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has not yet visited Tatarstan, so perhaps, the upcoming visit could correct this misunderstanding.
Successes of Minnikhanov and the republic in Russia's foreign policy
At the end of last week, Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on the development of public transport, which was attended by Russian governors. From Tatarstan, the rais of the republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, and the head of KAMAZ, Sergey Kogogin, participated in the work. The sources of the publication do not exclude that, probably, the head of the state could instruct Minnikhanov to convey the invitation to his Turkish counterpart.
Already this week, the rais of Tatarstan has visited Hungary, where official celebrations were held on the occasion of National Foundation Day. Rustam Minnikhanov, along with the presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the Emir of Qatar and other top officials, took part in the national holiday.
On the official portal of the rais of the republic, they limited themselves to a brief news about the joint participation of the leaders in the event. However, the media and bloggers focused on the meeting of the president of the republic with the Turkish leader and the discussion of the new grain agreement, thus highly appreciating the increased role of Rustam Minnikhanov and Tatarstan in Russia's international politics.
Shortly before that, the German edition of Bild, referring to official correspondence between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the embassies of Russia and Turkey, said that the rais of Tatarstan flew on a special flight to Budapest to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — allegedly to discuss the new grain deal. The authors of the article claimed that Russia, Turkey, and Qatar are developing a trilateral grain agreement to replace the expired one.
Resumption of the grain deal without Russia's participation is impractical
According to experts, the resumption of the grain deal in the previous format is a key issue for Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish leader himself earlier announced the imminent visit to Russia of the country's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
At the beginning of the month, during telephone talks, Erdogan and Putin agreed to meet face-to-face. The office of the Turkish president claimed that the Russian leader had agreed to come to Ankara. However, Moscow said that the negotiations would not necessarily take place in Turkey, and the head of the state “must be in the country” and, in the current conditions, it is “difficult for him to carry out any visits.”
As for the latest news about the meeting, the Turkish edition Yeni Şafak stated that Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Russia is an important step towards the implementation of the deal. According to the head of Turkey, in the current situation “it is possible to find a compromise”.
“The parties plan to discuss bilateral relations, Ukraine, and the grain deal. The Erdogan administration considers it inappropriate to resume the grain deal without Russia's participation. In this regard, the issue of resuming the agreement in the previous format is a key one," the media reports.
