The meeting between the two leaders was their first since Ankara downed one of Moscow’s warplanes last November, which sparked a diplomatic crisis as well as Russia’s economic sanctions.
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The normalization of ties clears the way for progress on major energy infrastructure projects – such as Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, to be built with Russian involvement, and a major natural gas pipeline from southern Russia to Turkey.
The downing of the Russian jet in November, which Putin described as a “treacherous stab in the back”, came amid boiling tensions over Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides in the war.
The alliance statement pointed out that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had spoken to Erdogan and other officials since the attempt, “strongly condemning” the actions of a rogue military faction “and reiterating full support for Turkey’s democratic institutions”.
Turkey has demanded the US extradite Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen, now living in Pennsylvania, whom the Turks say is responsible for the failed coup.
“This process has already started, but it will take some time”, Putin said Tuesday after meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Saint Petersburg.
Russia’s surveillance and eavesdropping equipment, Krasukha-4 deployed near Latakia in Syria had hacked into Turkey’s NATO-compatible radio-electronics mounted on helicopters, aircraft and ground vehicles to learn of the impending coup attempt against Turkish president Erdogan.
The failed coup saw renegade Turkish military officers using jets, helicopters and tanks try to take power in a night of violence that left more than 270 people dead.
After a three-hour meeting at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, the two leaders said they were ready to rebuild the fractured relationship between their two countries.
By contrast, he said, Turkey’s relationship with Russian Federation was “an alliance of convenience, not a strategic relationship”.
On the eve of the August 9 meeting, Erdogan said he wanted to reset relations with Russian Federation from a clean slate and restart cooperation in several sectors.
Russia’s Defence Ministry has accused Turkey of aiding the IS in the past, citing data indicating that the militants were being re-supplied and re-armed from Turkey.
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Mr Erdogan, who has said the trip represents a “new milestone”, told Mr Putin that ties had entered a “very different phase”, and thanked the Kremlin leader for his backing after the coup attempt.
