Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, summing up the results of negotiations in the Russian city of Sochi on Monday, called Russian President Vladimir Putin his "dear friend" and expressed intention to strengthen relations between Ankara and Moscow.
"Today, I met with the Russian president, my dear friend Mr. Putin, in Sochi and discussed with him the issues on our agenda. We want to further strengthen our multidimensional cooperation, especially in trade, energy, agriculture, tourism, economy and finance," Erdogan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Putin and Erdogan met in Sochi for the first time in almost 12 months. The two leaders discussed the situation around the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which expired in July, as well as a number of other issues.
During the meeting, Putin said that in a few weeks, Russia would start supplying grain to six African countries on a free-of-charge basis. Erdogan noted that Ankara was ready to assist Russia in processing the Russian grain for further shipments to countries in need and that he hoped to take joint steps to supply food to African countries.