Aliyev and Putin shake hands in Beijing

 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted each other with a handshake ahead of a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of victory in World War Two, held at Tiananmen Square on Thursday.

Putin also exchanged greetings with Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

A formal reception for the attending heads of state is currently taking place at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.