Foreign Min To Visit Ukraine On 25 Aug Amid Efforts To Revive Grain Deal

Turkey's state news agency Anadolu reports that according to diplomatic sources Foreign Minster Hakan Fidan will visit Ukraine on Friday 25 August. The date for the trip trip was firstspeculated onlast week, and comes as Turkeyseeks to further its position as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine in pushing for peace talks.

• Middle East Eye: "The move comes as Kyiv proposes an alternative route for the transportation of agricultural products, one which would circumvent international waters.Two sources familiar with the visit told Middle East Eye that Fidan will use his first ever visit to Kyiv as foreign minister, [...] , to exchange views on bilateral issues as well as the ongoing Ukrainian offensive and Ukraine’s own peace plan. The visit comes as Turkey and the UN have intensified their efforts to convince Russia to revive the landmark Black Sea grain deal, [...]."
• There has been talk of Ukraine seeking to avoid international waters in shipping grain from its ports, travelling through Romanian and Bulgarian waters before entering the Bosporus. However, MEE reports, “There is a risk that this proposal could escalate the situation in the Black Sea and spill the war into the territories of Nato countries, which we obviously don’t want,” [a Turkish] source said."
• Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Turkey in August for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. For Turkey, the apparent aim is to broaden discussions around reviving the grain deal into ones that encompass the prospect of a ceasefire and peace talks.