President Vladimir Putin may visit Türkiye before the Russian election expected to be held in mid-March, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin may visit before the presidential election, which is set for March 15-17.

Previously, Kremlin said Putin's visit would take place in late April or early May.

The trip, delayed twice since late last year, will mark Putin’s first visit to a NATO member state since he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ankara has sought to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative – brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations – that ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grain during the war via the Black Sea. Russia withdrew from the accord in July 2023 and has said it was not interested in reviving it.

Erdoğan and Putin last met in the Russian city of Sochi in September.

Elsewhere, Ankara and Moscow have a variety of policy differences regarding regional conflicts in Syria, Libya and the Southern Caucasus.