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Balkan Leaders Ask Erdogan to Discuss Winter Gas Supply With Putin: Turkish Minister

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The leaders of three Balkan countries have asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the issue of energy deliveries with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit to avoid contingencies in winter, Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirisci said on Wednesday.
Sputnik
"We visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. A proposal made by the presidents and prime ministers of those three countries suggested that we talk to Putin, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev at the SCO summit next week and ask them not to reduce the delivery of oil fuel and gas in the winter period," Kirisci was quoted by Turkish news portal Haberler as saying.
Erdogan will hold a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand from September 15-16.
The Turkish leader reportedly plans to stress Ankara's intention to make further efforts to end the hostilities in Ukraine and achieve a sustainable ceasefire through mediation initiatives. The parties will also discuss the functioning of the "grain corridor" because almost all grain exported from Ukraine was sent to EU member states, with two ships out of 87 reaching countries in need, according to Putin.
In addition, the agenda of the negotiations is expected to include a Turkish anti-terrorist military operation in Syria announced by Erdogan in late June.
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