Ankara: The revival of a deal, mediated by Ankara and the UN, to permit Ukrainian grain exports to Russia, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "depends on Western countries which must keep their promises," he said on Tuesday.

Erdogan continued, "I think a solution can be found," alluding to a recent phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who declined to extend the agreement.

Turkiye played a significant role in the now-defunct agreement that guaranteed the security of grain shipments from Ukraine through the Black Sea. The agreement, which was mediated by Ankara and the UN in July 2022, came to an end last month when Moscow declined to extend it.

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Erdogan revealed that Putin would travel to Turkey in August during a press conference he held with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month.

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Moscow, however, took offence when Zelensky returned from Istanbul with five top commanders from the Ukrainian Azov regiment, who were meant to stay in Turkiye until the end of the war as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with Moscow.

At the time, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, referred to it as "a direct violation" of the deal with Turkiye. NATO member Turkey has managed to keep cordial relations with both Russia and Ukraine throughout the conflict.

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Ankara has avoided the sanctions the West has placed on Russia, but it has given Ukraine weapons.