Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to hold one-on-one talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan soon, the Kremlin said today.

Asked about Erdogan’s invitation to Putin to visit Turkey to discuss the Black Sea grain deal and other pressing issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There is an understanding that this meeting will take place soon”.

“We usually synchronize the announcements of these visits with our partner countries. We will announce soon when and where it will take place. The meeting is being prepared, and it is being prepared very thoroughly,” he said.

The deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July 2022 to help ease a global food crisis allowed cargoes of Ukrainian grain to be exported from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

But Moscow pulled out of the deal last month, saying a companion agreement to facilitate the export of Russian grain and fertilizer had not been implemented.

Earlier, the Russian state news agency RIA reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would visit Russia, without giving details.

Putin told Erdogan in a phone call on August 2 that Moscow is ready to return to the Black Sea grain deal once the West fulfills its obligations on Russian exports.

Russian 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, administration and insurance are causing obstacles.

Grain prices on international markets have risen since Moscow let the deal expire without renewal on July 17, while Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian ports and grain storage facilities.

Ukraine and Russia lead grain exports. At least 33 million tons of Ukrainian grain was exported while the Black Sea deal was in operation.

The Kremlin also said today that Vladimir Putin does not plan to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India in September.

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, which the Kremlin vehemently denies. This means that the Russian president risks being arrested while traveling abroad.

This week he attended a gathering of leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies in South Africa via video conference rather than in person.