Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after Friday talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that he wanted to discuss the grain deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin either by phone or in person.
Erdogan said he expected Putin to visit Turkey in the coming month.
Asked about the possibility of the grain deal getting extended past July 17, a source familiar with the negotiations told Sputnik that "as of now, there is no optimism" but "the only hope that remains" are the expected talks between Putin and Erdogan.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Saturday that a telephone conversation with Erdogan was not on Putin’s schedule yet.