With grain deal in focus, Putin to meet Erdogan in Russia

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will try to convince Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin to return to a Ukraine grain export deal that helped ease a global food crisis, when the two leaders meet in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday. Russia quit the deal in July – a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey – complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced obstacles and that not enough Ukrainian grain was going to countries in need. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the talks with Erdogan, who previously played a significant role in convincing Putin to stick with the deal, would take place in the middle of the day, Moscow time.