Armenian, Azerbaijani intellectuals to meet in Moscow

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS: The meeting of the task group consisting of Armenian and Azerbaijani intellectuals will take place February 22 after a four-year pause. The information was written by the special representative of the Russian president on international cultural cooperation affairs Mikhail Shvidkoy in the "Second Attempt" article in Rossiyskaya gazetta newspaper.

"Of course during this period meetings on different levels have been conducted, starting from the meetings of presidents, and ending with the meetings of athletes of the two countries within the framework of different international championships in Baku and Yerevan," Shvidkoy pointed out.

In his words the four-year pause was not accidental. "Though the meetings on diplomatic levels were not interrupted for a long time, this humanitarian dialogue initiated by the ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan to Russia Armen Smbatyan and Polad Bülbüloğlu failed to continue for different reasons – starting from personal, ending with orders from above," Shvidkoy said.

He said during such meetings intellectuals of the two countries learn to speak with each other, at the same time understanding that they are not speaking about the solution of complicated Nagorno Karabakh issue but creation of an atmosphere as a result of which the two neighbors will try to listen to each other.

He voiced hope that in near future it will be possible to reach implementation of the goal.