US applauds Türkiye's efforts in halting Russia's "malign behaviour"

The US welcomes Türkiye's efforts in halting Russia's "malign behaviour", Deputy Spokesperson at the Department of State Vedant Patel said in a press briefing on February 5.

He made the remarks while commenting on the expected meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin next week, Caliber.Az reports, citing the website of the Department of State.

“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 behaviour, we certainly would welcome it,” Patel stressed. 

Commenting on the topic of Ukrainian grain, the spokesperson added that “Türkiye was instrumental in the – 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.  And if there is credible progress that can be made in that space, it certainly would be a welcome one”.

Earlier, it was reported that the meeting between Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being worked out through diplomatic channels.

However, the date and place have not been set yet, Russian media reports citing the administration of the Turkish leader.

The Russian leader previously said that he plans to meet with his Turkish counterpart in early 2024, before that they failed to meet due to Erdogan's schedule.

The administration of the Turkish President specified that the meeting is on the agenda, and the relevant work is carried out through diplomatic channels, but there are no specifics yet.