President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan highlighted the importance of diplomacy at the leaders' level, as he said more extensive steps would be taken regarding the Ukraine grain deal soon.
Speaking during a joint live broadcast on the ATV and a Haber channels, Erdoğan said both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy approach Ankara positively regarding the issue of grain exports.
He noted that Türkiye reciprocates their stance in a positive manner.
The president said the grain deal would prioritize African countries in need as agreed with Putin and that Ankara nad Moscow agreed on grain shipments to Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan.
Recalling Tuesday's phone call with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, Erdoğan highlighted the importance of "personal relations," to bring "the most important steps" in diplomacy.
"We talked about this (importance of personal relations) with Mr. Putin yesterday," Erdoğan said.
The Turkish president said that these calls show that the Russian president "is not someone who will take a step back" if you go against him.
His remarks came after Tuesday's phone call with Olaf Scholz in which they exchanged views on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Germany's chancellor appreciated Türkiye's efforts to maintain grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a German spokesperson said.
On July 22, Türkiye, the U.N., Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul to resume Black Sea grain exports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.
On Saturday, Russia announced that it would suspend its participation in the deal for what it alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea fleet at the port of Sevastopol.
Earlier on Wednesday, Türkiye and Russia announced Moscow's return to the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal following Ankara and the U.N.'s mediation.
The president noted that Ankara wants to maintain relations with Israel based on mutual understanding, no matter the election outcome, as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to return to power.
"Whatever the election result, we want to maintain relations with Israel on a sustainable basis, based on mutual respect for sensitivities and common interests," Erdoğan said.
Netanyahu was set to gain power in one of the most right-wing coalitions in Israel's history, causing jitters among Palestinians and Arab neighbours who fear it could ratchet up tensions across the Middle East.
Israel-Türkiye relations, long-frosty amid feuding over the Palestinian cause, have warmed in recent months, with energy emerging as a key area of cooperation.
In August, Türkiye and Israel agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and reappoint ambassadors and consuls general after a four-year hiatus.
Also, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid met in late September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the Turkish House (Türkevi) in New York in the first face-to-face talks since 2008.
Türkiye in 1949 became the first Muslim-majority nation to recognize Israel.
But relations soured due to the 2010 killing of 10 Turkish activists in brawls that erupted when Israeli marines stormed a ship trying to break Israel's naval blockade on Gaza.
A 2016 reconciliation agreement that saw the return of ambassadors all but collapsed in 2018-2019, when more than 200 Gazans were shot dead by Israeli forces during border protests.
The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in West Jerusalem.
