Russian President Vladimir Putin, a dog lover, received a top breed puppy as a belated birthday gift from Turkmenistan's president, who is keen to recover lost Russian markets for Turkmen gas.

Russia, once the main buyer of Turkmen gas, stopped buying the fuel last year due to a price dispute. China, with its growing appetite for energy, is now the main market for Turkmen gas.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, a flamboyant former dentist whose interests range from sports cars to noble horses, enjoys a personality cult and autocratic powers in his desert nation which sits on the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves.

The two men held talks at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, on the sidelines of a summit of ex-Soviet states.