Putin, Erdogan May Discuss Grain Deal on Sidelines of SCO Summit in Samarkand, Source Says

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan may discuss Moscow's concerns about the grain deal on the sidelines of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan on September 15-16, a diplomatic source told Sputnik.

"Yes, this topic will be discussed," the diplomatic source said when asked if the grain deal is featured on the agenda of the anticipated meeting of Putin and Erdogan in Samarkand.

Earlier on Wednesday, Putin aired his concerns over a looming humanitarian catastrophe that may be caused by the West exporting most of Ukraine's grain to its own storages rather than to the struggling African nations. Putin said it might be worth discussing restrictions in this mechanism with the Turkish president.

Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya earlier said that the part of the food deal concerning the export of Russian food and fertilizers is not operating as it should, as not a single Russian ship was able to export grain yet.

The source told Sputnik that Ankara understands Moscow's discontent on such partial implementation of the agreement and may provide support in the ongoing negotiations to allow Russian cargo to enter markets.

"These objections are understandable; we have also repeatedly expressed our stance on the need for Russian cargo to enter global markets; this is part of the deal. Negotiations in this context are being conducted by Russia and the UN, and we have stated that we can assist, if necessary," the source said.