Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Aug. 9, 2016. (Xinhua/Sputnik)

ST. PETERSBURG, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin met here with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.

The meeting, which is expected to pave the way for restoring bilateral cooperation, is their first encounter since Ankara downed one of Moscow's warplanes last November, which sparked a diplomatic crisis.