Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will focus on the Black Sea grain deal during a meeting on Monday as Turkey seeks to bring Moscow back into the deal, Erdogan's top foreign policy adviser Akif Çagataj Kilic said in an interview with A Haber television channel.
"We are playing a leading role here. We see strong support from all over the world for the implementation of the grain corridor," said Kilic, Reuters reports.
We are careful, Kilic said. and added that he hopes for success because it is a situation that affects the whole world.
Russian drones hit infrastructure at a Danube port critical to Ukraine's grain exports, injuring at least two people in an attack in southern parts of Odesa region on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.
The Danube has become Ukraine's main grain export route since July, when Russia abandoned the UN and Turkey-brokered deal that allowed safe passage for Kiev to export grains, oilseeds and vegetable oils across the Black Sea.
Ankara has acknowledged the technical complexities surrounding the agreement, particularly with regard to Russian grain and payment mechanisms, Kilic said.
The issue also involves international payment systems such as SVIFT, which presents a multifaceted challenge, Kilic added.
"The decision of the Russian leader is important here. I believe that the bilateral meeting between President Erdogan and Putin will play the most important role in this matter.
About 280.000 people applied for professional service in the Russian military this year, said Deputy Head of the Russian Security Council and former President Dmitry Medvedev.
As Reuters reports, Medvedev said during his visit to Russia's Far East that he was meeting with local officials as part of efforts to strengthen the armed forces.
"According to the Ministry of Defense, since January 1, approximately 280.000 people have been recruited into the ranks of the armed forces on contract, including reservists," Medvedev's state news agency TASS quoted him as saying.
Ukrainian officials added that the port infrastructure on the Danube was damaged in the Russian attacks on Odesa region.
The Danube has recently become the main route for the export of grain from Ukraine.
In the early hours, Russia attacked the Odesa region with 25 drones and on that occasion two civilians were injured, while the port infrastructure was damaged, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Telegram.
Reuters reports that Ukrainian air defense systems shot down 22 Iranian-made Shahed drones.
The Air Force added that the attack lasted 3,5 hours.
Traffic on the main bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been temporarily suspended, the Russian operator said early Sunday.
As reported by Reuters, the administration did not announce the reason for closing the bridge.
The Crimean bridge has been the target of increased air and naval drone attacks in recent months.
War in Ukraine 557th day. You can see what happened yesterday in Eastern Europe at the link below.
Bonus video:
