U.S. Says 'Would Welcome' If Türkiye Stopped Russia From Malign Behavior

The U.S. State Department on Monday reacted to news that Russia's Vladimiar Putin was expected to visit Türkiye next week, which would be his first trip to a NATO ally since invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"I will leave it to our Turkish partners to speak to their own engagements and their own foreign policy.  If any country is able to play a meaningful role in stopping Russia from some of its malign behavior, we certainly would welcome it," Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told TURAN's Washington correspondent during a daily briefing.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was quoted on Sunday as confirming the trip, saying that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would discuss with Putin 'a new mechanism' to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.

Patel told the daily briefing that Türkiye was instrumental in getting the Black Sea Grain Initiative accomplished when it was in existence, and "so we continue to feel that it’s critical that Ukrainian grain get to the places that it needs to go," he added.

He concluded: "And if there is credible progress that can be made in that space, it certainly would be a welcome one."

Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative last July, a year after it was implemented. .