Putin agrees to extend grain deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend the grain deal despite the failure to comply with Russia's demands on the Black Sea initiative, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, AFP reports.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was working out its further actions before the agreement was going to expire. Putin said on July 13 that the grain deal could be extended only if the Russian part of the agreement was going to be fulfilled.

On July 12, Erdogan said that he would talk to Putin to discuss the extension of the grain deal and the extradition of former commanders of the Azov* Brigade (a terrorist organisation, banned in the Russian Federation) to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is to visit Turkey in August, where he will have an opportunity to discuss these issues in a tête-à-tête conversation with his Turkish counterpart.

*terrorist group, banned in Russia