Tayyip Erdogan says his country is entering a "very different period" in relations with Moscow following a diplomatic deep freeze.

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has met Vladimir Putin in a move to reset relations following a bitter feud over Ankara's downing of a Russian warplane last year.

The visit to St Petersburg by Mr Erdogan is his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month, that has triggered mass purges and frayed relations with the West.
Turkey has accused Europe and the US of showing a lack of solidarity and being more concerned over the post-coup crackdown than the attempted putsch itself.

The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 over the Syrian border last November led to a furious response from Moscow, which slapped sanctions on Ankara.
At the time, Mr Putin branded it a "stab in the back" committed by "accomplices of terrorists".
In the first half of 2016, the number of Russian tourists visiting the country plummeted by 87%.
However, there has been a thaw in relations in recent months, with Mr Putin accepting a personal expression of regret by Mr Erdogan over the incident as an apology.
The Kremlin rolled back a ban on the sale of package holidays to Turkey and signalled it would  end measures against Turkish food imports and construction firms.
The failed July coup also appeared to draw the two countries closer together.
Mr Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone the Turkish leader to offer support after the overthrow bid and has not joined the criticism expressed by Western powers of the ensuing clampdown.
Turkey's justice minister has warned the United States will "sacrifice relations" unless it extradites Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed coup.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Erdogan told Russian state media: "This visit seems to me a new milestone in bilateral relations, beginning with a clean slate, and I personally, with all my heart and on behalf of the Turkish nation salute Mr Putin and all Russians."
On meeting his Turkish counterpart, Mr Putin told him: "Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey."
Mr Erdogan said Turkey was entering a "very different period" in relations with Russia, and that closer ties between the two countries would help solve problems in the region.