In an act aimed at improving ties between two countries, an Armenian actor and a Turkish actor have set a world record for the longest handshake.



Thirty-two-year-old Armenian Oganes Ajinyan and 35-year-old Turk Denis Barish continued their handshake for 43 hours at an event in Tbilisi, Georgia, organized by the Turkish and Armenian NGO Network (TANGO).



The handshake started on December 6 and ended on December 8. The entire event was filmed and will be sent to the "Guinness Book of World Records."



Ajinyan and Barish said they wanted to show that the historical conflicts between Armenia and Turkey cannot prevent representatives of the two peoples from having a conversation.



Armenia holds Turkey responsible for the World War I-era mass killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians -- massacres which Armenians call a genocide, a term rejected by Ankara.



Turkey claims it also suffered horrendous casualties during that time.



Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Interfax