Putin and Erdogan meet in bid to 'restart dialogue'

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan looked to rebuild ties as they met on Tuesday for the first time since Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes in November.

Erdogan's visit to Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey's relations with the West.

"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," Putin said after the two leaders shook hands.