MOSCOW/ANKARA, August 2. /TASS/. Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have discussed relations and cooperation between their countries by telephone.

The conversation was the first since June 24, when the grain deal was terminated and a number of other events took place, in particular, the release to Kiev of the leaders of the Azov nationalist battalion, banned in Russia.

Putin himself announced plans for holding a telephone conversation on August 2. Before that, he said, the two leaders had failed to pick a convenient moment for the conversation.

TASS has summarized the gist of what Putin and Erdogan told each other.

On the grain deal

Putin, according to the Kremlin, "outlined Russia's high-principled position" on the deal: its another extension has turned meaningless, because Russia’s interests have failed to be met to this day. Moscow will be ready to get back to compliance with the agreement, though, as soon as the West fulfills all obligations.

For his part, Erdogan, according to his office, "will continue active efforts and use diplomacy" in a bid to ensure that the Black Sea Initiative be extended. Ankara refers to the grain deal as a "bridge of peace", the termination of which will not benefit anyone, especially the needy countries. After the suspension of the agreement grain prices have soared by 15%.

At the same time, Putin emphasized that Russia, for its part, was working on "reliable options for supplying Russian grain, including on a free-of-charge basis" to such countries, which had also been discussed at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg. The two leaders expressed their "willingness to cooperate on this track."

On economic ties

According to the Kremlin, Putin and Erdogan paid special attention to trading ties, energy projects and cooperation in the tourism sector. The trade turnover between the two countries doubled in 2022.

The Turkish side expressed "satisfaction with the growing interest of Russian tourists towards Turkey." Erdogan voiced the certainty that "a record will be set" in terms of the number of tourists from Russia.

On help in fighting forest fires

Both Moscow and Ankara reported that Erdogan expressed gratitude for Russia’s help in extinguishing forest fires. The Turkish side especially thanked Russia for dispatching two amphibious firefighting airplanes.

On Putin's visit to Turkey

The Turkish presidential office said that "the leaders agreed on Putin's visit to Turkey." In the meantime, the Kremlin reported an agreement to go ahead with contacts "in the context of preparations for a possible meeting."

The Turkish version of the report on the conversation mentioned a call for avoiding an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. The Kremlin's news release does not say if such an issue was touch upon.