Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sends letter to Vladimir Putin to restore ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his wish to restore relations with Russia in a recent letter of congratulation to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday's Russia Day.

"On behalf of the Turkish people, I congratulate all Russians on the occasion of the Russia Day, and wish that in the time ahead the relations between Russia and Turkey will reach their well-deserved level," Xinhua quoted RIA Novosti news agency as saying on Tuesday.

Relations between Russia and Turkey have soured after the latter downed a Russian Su-24 bomber near the Turkish-Syrian border in November last year for alleged airspace violation, which Russia denied and took as a hostile act.

Putin described the attack as a "stab in the back" and ordered a broad range of economic sanctions against Turkey.

Ankara did not take retaliatory measures, in a bid to avoid the escalation of the already tense situation. But it did not shy away from resorting to harsh diatribe against Russia.