‘The fish’s head is rotten’: Former FSB officer says Russian soldiers are unhappy with Putin as Kremlin reveals why it invaded Ukraine

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed grain supplies and a potential regional gas hub in Turkey today, both countries said.

Relations with NATO member Turkey are vital to Russia at a time when the West has hit it with waves of economic sanctions, which Mr Erdogan’s country has refrained from joining.

Turkey has, however, rejected Russia’s move to annex four Ukrainian regions as a “grave violation” of international law.

Turkey has acted as a mediator with the United Nations on an agreement that guarantees grain exports from both Ukraine and Russia, two of the world’s biggest producers.

“President Erdogan expressed his sincere wish for the termination of the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible,” the Turkish presidency said on Sunday.

In the call, Mr Erdogan said Ankara and Moscow could start work on exporting other food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor, the Turkish president’s office said.

Russia has urged the United Nations to push the West to lift some sanctions to ensure Moscow can freely export its fertiliser and agricultural products – a part of the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow says has not been implemented.

“The deal is of complex character, which requires the removal of obstacles for the relevant supplies from Russia in order to meet the demands of the countries most in need,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

The Kremlin said the two also discussed an initiative to create a base in Turkey for exports of Russian natural gas.