ISTANBUL

Türkiye's foreign minister on Tuesday spoke with his Russian counterpart over the phone to discuss the Black Sea grain deal which Moscow suspended, Turkish diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

Hakan Fidan and Sergey Lavrov addressed the latest developments regarding the Black Sea grain deal and the procurement of a firefighting aircraft from Russia to use in forest fires, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

A year ago Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which had been paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

However, Russia on Monday suspended the Black Sea grain deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will return to implementing the deal as soon as the Russian part of the deal is fulfilled.

Türkiye, internationally praised for its unique mediator role between Ukraine and Russia, has repeatedly called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations.