Russian President Putin and Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Sochi, a coastal city in southern Russia, on the 4th. The two sides exchanged views on international and regional hotspot issues such as cooperation in the fields of security, economy, politics, and humanities between the two countries, as well as the agreement on the export of agricultural products from the Black Sea port. The Kremlin website announced on the same day that Putin stated at a joint press conference held after the talks that Russia Turkey's cooperation based on the principles of good neighborliness, partnership, and mutual benefit has developed smoothly in various fields, and bilateral trade volume continues to grow. In addition, the trend of using local currency for settlement in both countries is becoming increasingly evident, with the share of settlement in US dollars and euros continuing to decrease. Putin stated that cooperation between the two sides in the energy field has true strategic significance. The first unit of Akuyu nuclear power plant built by Russia in Türkiye will be started next year. Russia has always been a reliable natural gas supplier and will continue to provide Türkiye with efficient and environmentally friendly fuel. When it comes to the situation in Ukraine, Putin reiterated Russia's principled position on resuming the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports. He stated that if the content of the agreement regarding the lifting of export restrictions on Russian agricultural products is fully implemented, the Russian side is willing to consider the possibility of immediately resuming the agreement. Erdogan stated at a press conference that Turkey is willing to make every effort to hold a new package of negotiations on the resumption of the agreement for the export of agricultural products from the Black Sea port. He said that developing bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia based on the principles of good neighborliness, friendship, and sincerity is in line with the interests of both countries and regions, and will continue to contribute to solving regional and global problems. On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine signed relevant agreements with Türkiye and the United Nations on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports in Istanbul, Türkiye. The agreement is valid for 120 days. The agreement was extended multiple times in November last year, March and May this year, and expired on July 17th. The Russian side informed Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations on July 17 that it would not renew the agreement. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement at the time stating that the implementation of this agreement was blatantly disrupted and continued implementation was "meaningless". (New News Agency)