ANKARA, July 7. /TASS/. Talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his visiting Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, have begun in Istanbul, the office of the Turkish leader said on Friday.

"Bilateral talks between the presidents have begun," it said.

Talks between the delegations are expected to be held after the one-on-one meeting and a news conference will follow.

The topics are expected to include issues of the coordination of the two countries’ positions ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, security guarantees to Ukraine, the grain deal, and defense cooperation between companies.

Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the Russian authorities would keep a close eye on the talks between the Turkish and Ukrainian presidents.