Turkish president heads to Sochi to meet Russian counterpart

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan departed Türkiye for Russia on Friday to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin for talks on bilateral ties, and international and regional issues.

According to the Turkish presidency, the leaders will hold a one-on-one meeting and chair the talks between delegations in the Russian coastal city of Sochi during Erdogan's one-day working visit.

The Syria crisis and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which is now in its sixth month, will be addressed during the Sochi meeting.

The leaders will also evaluate bilateral ties between the two countries, mainly focusing on economy, trade, and energy that constitute the driving force behind Türkiye-Russia relations.

They will exchange views on the potential steps to enhance bilateral cooperation as well.

Erdogan and Putin are set to meet in person for the second time in 17 days after their July meeting in Iran's capital Tehran, where the leaders had a trilateral meeting with their Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at the Syria summit.

- Türkiye's efforts to unblock Ukraine grain exports

Thanks to Türkiye's diplomatic efforts to unblock Ukraine grain exports, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni, the first grain ship out of Ukraine since the war begin in February, left the port of Odesa on Monday. The ship with over 26,500 tons of corn passed through the Bosphorus Strait after it got security clearance in Istanbul on Wednesday en route to Lebanon for a delivery that many believe is helping ease the global food crisis.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed a historic deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports – Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny – for the export of Ukraine grain that has been stuck for months due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Three more ships carrying grain and foodstuffs on Friday left Ukrainian ports, carrying over 58,000 tons of corn under the deal.

The Panama-flagged Navistar departed the port of Odesa for Ireland with 33,000 tons of grain, the Malta-flagged Rojen left the port of Chornomorsk with 13,000 tons of grain for the UK, and the Türkiye-flagged Polarnet left the port of Chornomorsk with 12,000 tons of corn destined for Türkiye.