“The general mood has been very positive”, the official said after the meeting in St Petersburg.
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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.
Turkey warned the U.S. on Tuesday not to sacrifice bilateral ties over Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the July 15 failed coup and wants to see extradited to face trial.
“Your visit today, which you made despite the really complex domestic political situation in Turkey, shows we all want to restart our dialogue and restore our relations”, said Putin, in preliminary remarks before the two men held talks.
Repeatedly calling Putin his “dear friend”, Erdogan says Turkey is ready to implement a natural gas pipeline project proposed by Moscow and a deal for Russian Federation to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
A major focus of the announcement was on restoring lucrative economic and trade ties – a move that will benefit the fragile economies of both countries.
“Your visit today, despite the very hard political situation in Turkey, says that we all want to resume our dialogue, rapprochement in the interests of the peoples of Turkey and Russia”, Putin told Erdogan shortly after the Turkish president arrived in St. Petersburg for much anticipated talks.
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Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland July 9, 2016.
The Turkish leader also called for the TurkStream gas pipeline, a joint project with Russian Federation, to be “done as soon as possible”.
Denmark’s ruling party has said, however, that the European Union should end accession negotiations with Turkey due to Mr Erdogan’s “undemocratic initiatives” and his support for reintroducing the death penalty.
In turn, commenting on the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, Putin said that Russian Federation was against all manners of coup attempts and any kind of unlawful attempts to unseat legitimate governments, adding that the developments would be beneficial for the two countries.
The talks came at a moment when Turkey is “increasingly isolated regionally and globally”, said Fadi Hakura, Turkey specialist at the Chatham House think tank in London.
Cavusoglu told state-run Anadolu Agency that the Turkish delegation would head for Russian Federation on Wednesday in search of common ground.
The leaders are expected to discuss Syria and other subjects in a highly symbolic meeting that will likely make western governments nervous, because it’s a U-turn for two governments who were insulting each other just two months ago.
Mr Cavusoglu said Turkey wanted to establish a “strong mechanism” with Russian Federation to find a solution for Syria, without explaining what this might entail.
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She said that Washington expects Turkish officials to be responsible while issuing statements about friendly nations, adding that any extradition of Gulen would be “a legal, technical process… governed by the 1981 extradition treaty signed by both of our countries”.
