Istanbul Congress Center on Sunday hosted a special concert event dedicated to Armenian dances.

The invited guest performers were the national dance ensemble Maral and the Tatul Altunyan Song and Dance Ensemble, the Istanbul-based Armenian publication Luys reports.

A commentator for the TV channel Dogan described the concert – attended by numerous Turkish and Armenian public and political figures, and intellectuals – as an attempt towards “fostering friendship”.

The event was covered by both Turkish and Armenian media outlets. Also, it becomes clear from one of the videos that many Istanbul-Armenians boycotted the presence of Aram Ateshyan, General Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul, by chanting loud slogans and exchanging whistles.