Erdoğan to meet Putin in Sochi on August 5

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay a one-day visit to Sochi on Aug. 5 to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, three weeks after the two leaders met in Tehran, where they discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Syrian civil war.

The visit has not yet been officially announced by Ankara and not confirmed by Moscow.

Erdoğan and Putin held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Astana Process summit in Tehran on July 19. Both leaders had described it as fruitful and positive.

The meeting in Sochi would likely deepen the issues discussed by the two leaders in Tehran, particularly the war in Ukraine and counterterrorism in Syria.

Türkiye and the U.N. could broker two separate deals with Russia and Ukraine for the start of grain and fertilizer exports from these two countries to the world markets. Erdoğan had said he hoped this would be a turning point for the resumption of political talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the armed conflict.

The visit will also pave the way for Erdoğan to overcome Putin’s opposition to a new military operation by the Turkish military into northern Syria, where the YPG has a strong presence. Russia urges that a new military offensive will further destabilize the country.