A Turkish and an Armenian actor completed the longest-ever handshake on Dec. 8 in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in an act designed to foster peace between the two long-time foes, The Hurriyet Daily News reports. 

Deniz Barış from Turkey and Hovhannes Hajinyan from Armenia stood for 43 straight hours holding each other’s hands. The performance was aimed at underlining the possibility of better relations between Turkey and Armenia and took place thanks to the initiative of a group of Turkish and Armenian entrepreneurs and artists supported by the TANGO Network (Turkish and Armenian NGO Network), which unites Armenian and Turkish non-profit organizations.

Barış and Hajinyan’s handshake beat the previous record by 25 minutes, which was set in New York in 2011.

The whole event was broadcast live on the Internet, allowing everyone to witness Barış and Hajinyan holding hands despite rain, wind and cold weather, with the temperature falling to as low as minus 3 degrees Celsius during the night. Event organizers are currently working on a Guinness World Record Book entry at the moment.

Hajinyan, an actor at the Yerevan Pantomime Theater, and Barış, from the southern province of Mersin, took the idea of participating in the event enthusiastically.

Source: tert.am