Azerbaijan, Baku, July 3 / Trend , U.Sadikhova/
Azerbaijani and Armenian Ambassadors to Russia Polad Bul-Bul oglu and Armen Smbatian, as well as Head of Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography Mikhail Shvydko are on visit in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. On July 3, Smbatian , Polad Bul-Bul oglu and Shvydko met with the President of the unrecognized NKR Bako Saakyan on Khankandi, the Armenian media reported.
Polad Bul-Bul oglu said at the meeting that this meeting did not aim to change the negotiations between the two countries' presidents, but should favor rapprochement of the nations, because Armenians and Azerbaijanis lived together for a long time.
A six-member Azerbaijani delegation, as well as two members of the Azerbaijani parliament Asim Mollazade and Tahir Rzayev and composer Siyavush Karimi arrived in Khankandi.
This is the second visit of the Azerbaijani and Armenian ambassadors to Russia to the Nagorno-Karabakh. Representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani intelligentsia visited Khankandi, Yerevan and Baku on June 28 in 2007 upon the initiative of the two countries' ambassadors to Russia.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
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