The resumption of the grain deal still seems like a mirage, but it is one of Turkey's top priorities. "Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is working systematically in this context," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference in Kiev, where he was visiting.

"The renewal of the grain initiative is a priority for Turkey. These agreements are of great importance for global food security. Our president works very systematically in this context. We continue contacts and consultations with Ukraine, the UN, Russia and other countries," the minister added.

Fidan emphasized that Russia should be part of the grain initiative and brought back into the deal to provide the port infrastructure that is critical to supplies.

"We cannot condone attacks on the port infrastructure, which plays a key role in the grain delivery process. And for that reason, from the beginning, we believed that Russia should be brought back into the equation. Any other solution that does not include Russia poses huge risks for the ports. And we openly stated this to our Ukrainian colleagues," he concluded.

According to the latest information, the meeting between Putin and Erdogan is planned in Sochi, and September 4 is mentioned as a possible date.

"This is the possible date. Apart from the grain deal, the leaders will be able to discuss the gas hub, which is one of the main issues. Another topic is the construction of Akkuyu NPP in Turkey. Ankara gives high priority to these projects," the source said.

At the same time, it is already clear that the duty on wheat exports from Russia will decrease to 3,729 rubles ($39.2) per ton from August 30 to September 5, 2023, from the current rate of 4,270 rubles ($44.8) per ton, according to files released by the Department of Agriculture on Friday.

The corn export duty will drop to 1,932 rubles ($20.26) per tonne from 2,495 rubles ($26.18) per tonne.

The export duty rate was calculated based on an indicative price of $237.6 per tonne for wheat, $175.5 per tonne for barley and $198.3 per tonne for maize.