Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have held their first phone conversation since Ankara downed one of Moscow's jets in Syria last year, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the talks, with Erdogan's office saying both leaders expressed a determination to revive mutual relations and fight against terrorism.

The call was arranged after Erdogan expressed regret in a letter to Putin on Monday over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last year.

The two also agreed during their call to meet in person, Erdogan's office said, adding that “necessary steps” should be taken to revive relations.

Turkish presidential sources also said that Erdogan’s conversation with the Russian leader was “very productive and positive.”

The phone call came after Putin expressed sympathy for the victims of gun and bomb attacks at the Istanbul airport Atatürk international airport. Some 41 people were killed and 239 others injured in attacks on Tuesday night.

“We are sorry, and we sympathize with the victims of the terrorist attack that happened yesterday,” Putin said earlier on Wednesday.

Moscow-Ankara ties strained last November after Turkey shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft with two pilots aboard, claiming the fighter jet had repeatedly violated the Turkish airspace

Putin lifts Turkey restrictions

Putin also on Wednesday lifted Moscow's travel restrictions to Turkey and ordered trade ties normalized after his first phone call with counterpart Erdogan.

In the wake of the November incident Moscow slapped a range of sanctions on Ankara, including an embargo on some Turkish food products, as well as a ban on charter flights and sales of package tours to the country and the reintroduction of visas for Turkish visitors.

“I want to start with the question of tourism ... we are lifting the administrative restrictions in this area,” Putin told government ministers in televised comments.

“I ask that the Russian government begins the process of normalizing general trade and economic ties with Turkey,” he said.

The breakthrough phone call by Putin to Erdogan came after the Turkish strongman on Monday sent a letter to the Kremlin leader that Moscow said contained an apology.

In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin expressed “profound condolences” over the Monday bombing and shooting attack at Istanbul's main airport that killed at least 41 people and was pinned by Ankara on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) terrorist group.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement that Erdogan and Putin “highlighted the importance of the normalization of bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia.”

Erdogan is expected to meet with Putin in September on the sidelines of the forthcoming G20 summit in China for their first face-to-face talks since the start of the diplomatic row, a Turkish official told AFP on Wednesday speaking on condition of anonymity.

'Planned provocation'

The downing of the Russian warplane in Syria slammed the brakes on burgeoning relations between Russia and Turkey and sparked a bitter war of words between the leaders.

Putin called it a “stab in the back” and demanded an apology from Erdogan, who he also accused of being involved in the illegal oil trade with ISIL.

Ankara has said Erdogan expressed his “regret” over the incident in Monday's letter to Putin and asked the family of the pilot who died to “excuse us,” but has not explicitly confirmed he apologized for shooting down the plane.

Turkey has argued that the Russian plane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Russia insisted it did not cross the border and accused Turkey of a “planned provocation.”

The countries are on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, with Ankara backing rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad while Moscow is one of his allies.

The crisis in relations severely hit Turkey's tourism industry, with the number of Russian tourists drastically declining in holiday resorts along the Mediterranean coast.

(Source: agencies)