Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated today, Monday, that "there is nothing new to say regarding the grain agreement," noting that President Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey has not been determined yet. Peskov stated, "Russia intends to continue its relations with Ankara." Earlier today, the Russian news agency reported that an informed source said, "The anticipated negotiations between President Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are still the only hope for extending the grain transportation agreement via the Black Sea, which is set to expire next week." The source, who wished to remain anonymous, mentioned that "there is no optimism" regarding the extension of the agreement, a stance Moscow has repeatedly expressed in recent weeks. He added, "Our experience shows that negotiations between the leaders can change the situation, and the current difficult period is no exception; today this remains the only hope." The Russian Foreign Ministry also indicated on Sunday that Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the Ukrainian situation and the grain export agreement via the Black Sea in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
**Wagner Group Leader**
Separately, Peskov announced that "President Vladimir Putin held talks with the head of the private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and leaders of the group to discuss the armed rebellion they attempted against senior military leaders." Reports of the meeting first surfaced in the French newspaper "Libération," which stated that Prigozhin met with Putin, National Guard head Viktor Zolotov, and Foreign Intelligence Service head Sergey Naryshkin. According to Peskov, the meeting took place on June 29, five days after the rebellion was quashed, which is widely considered to have posed the most significant challenge to Putin since he took office at the end of 1999. Peskov told reporters that "Putin invited 35 individuals to the meeting, including Prigozhin and leaders of Wagner units, and the meeting lasted three hours." He added that "the Russian president listened to the leaders' explanations of what happened and offered them further options for action and combat."
