Mirzoyan: Armenia seeks to strengthen ties with China without any  limitations

ArmInfo.  Armenia seeks to strengthen ties with China without any limitations, as stated by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan  in an interview with the South  China Morning Post during his official visit to Beijing.

Responding to a question about the prospects for developing strategic  partnership between Armenia and China, Mirzoyan noted that not only   there is no impediment and any obstacle to deepening Armenian-  Chinese relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen  these relations without any limitations.  "We already mentioned it   with our Chinese colleagues. We noted the strategic nature of our  relations, and we see mutual interest in leveling up these relations  officially as well," the chief diplomat of Armenia noted. He assured  that the political dialogue between Yerevan and Beijing was  "intensive and active", adding that Armenia sought to strengthen ties  with China not just in  trade and infrastructure, but also in culture  and people -to- people interaction.

In response to a question about the possibility of establishing peace  in the South Caucasus, Mirzoyan noted that when Armenia and  Azerbaijan concluded negotiations over the text of the peace treaty,  China was among the countries that welcomed the achievement.  Emphasizing that Armenia seeks institutionalized peace with  Azerbaijan, namely, the signing  of the peace treaty, the minister  added: "We see that China expressed readiness to supports the  normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations."

In response to a question regarding the process of normalization of  relations with neighbors, including Turkey, the head of Armenian  diplomacy emphasized that such normalization would be crucial to  Armenia's Crossroads of Peace plan, which was unveiled in 2023  with  the goal of improving connectivity between Armenia and its neighbors,  as well as with regions beyond, including Europe, Central Asia and  China. Mirzoyan added that this could also open a door to connect  Armenia's Crossroads of Peace project with China's Belt and Road  intercontinental infrastructure and investment program, and the  Global Gateway, the European Union's 300 billion euro investment  strategy.

"Armenia's Crossroads of Peace project would not have that huge  impact without China's Belt and Road project, and vice versa,  probably the Belt and Road  wouldn't run that smoothly if  bypassing  Armenia," Mirzoyan said.