By Duncan Mackay

European Olympic Committees President Patrick Hickey hopes to secure the participation of Armenia in next year's European Games ©NOCAPatrick Hickey will travel to Armenia soon to try to secure the country's participation in next year's inaugural European Games, which are due to take place in Baku, the capital of neighbours Azerbaijan.


The two countries have recently been in renewed conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh, a landlocked region in the South Caucasus which lies within Azerbaijan's internationally recognised borders.

Earlier this month, 19 soldiers lost their lives in clashes between the country's forces, the latest violation of a 1994 cease-fire.

Last week Vladimir Putin hosted talks in Sochi between Azerbaijan President  Ilham Aliyev and Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan.

The Russian President urged the two countries to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan held talks in Sochi with Vladimir Putin last week to try to find a solution to the dispute between the two countries ©President of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan held talks in Sochi with Russia's Vladimir Putin last week to try to find a solution to the dispute between the two countries ©President of Azerbaijan

Armenia did not compete in the Eurovision Song Contest when it was held in Baku in 2012 and UEFA have a policy of keeping the countries apart in the qualifying rounds for international tournaments.

But Hickey, President of the European Olympic Committees, is confident that his trip to Armenian capital Yerevan, due to take place between October 11 and 14, will ensure they take part at Baku 2015. 

He will hold talks with National Olympic Committee of Armenia President Gagik Tsarukyan, one of the country's most prominent politicians and a wealthy businessman. 

"We want to ensure that all 49 countries take part in the first-ever European Games," Hickey told insidethegames.

"I am very confident we will be able to achieve full participation."

Like Azerbaijan, Armenia made its debut in the Olympics at Atlanta 1996 following the break-up of the Soviet Union.

At London 2012 they won a total of three medals, a silver and two bronze.

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