ISTANBUL, July 13. /TASS/. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin before the grain deal expires, a spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party, Omer Celik, told the Haberturk television channel on Thursday.
"A conversation of this kind is expected," he said, adding that he did not expect a crisis in Russia-Turkey relations to emerge, including as a result of Ankara’s decision to speed up the ratification process of Sweden’s NATO accession protocol.
"There will be no crisis in relations. It should not be expected. Both leaders have always managed to come to terms on sensitive issues," Celik added.
He also did not rule out the possibility of Putin’s visit to Turkey, which, according to Erdogan’s previous remarks, may take place in August.
The spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling party also emphasized Ankara’s ongoing mediation efforts aimed at settling the Ukrainian crisis. He expressed hope that they produce positive results sooner or later.
Commenting on the possibility of Putin’s visit to Turkey, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the date of it remains to be set.