Erdoğan Holds First Call w/Putin Since Re-Election

The Turkish Directorate of Communications has confirmed that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the former's re-election at the end of May. The Directorate reports that Erdoğan discussed with Putin the situation around the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine in the wake of its disastrous breach, saying that Erdoğan will seek to set up an international commission including Turkey and the UN relating to the investigation of the cause.

• Erdoğan also talked up the idea of Russia remaining party to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, monitored by Turkey and the UN, which facilitates the export of Russian grain and fertilisers.
• States that Turkey is 'determined to ensure peace between Moscow, Kyiv,' with Erdoğan telling Putin that Ankara is ready to provide all necessary support to end conflicts
• The continued presence of Erdoğan in the Turkish presidential palace has been seen by some analysts as supportive of the country remaining a conduit between Russia and Ukraine given the president's close relations with Putin but also Turkey's position as a military hardware supplier to Kyiv, ensuring a measure of trust on both sides.