Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, during his official visit to China last week, gave an interview to the South China Morning Post. Excerpts of Mirzoyan’s remarks from the published article are presented below.

In response to a question regarding the prospects for the development of a strategic partnership between Armenia and China, Mirzoyan noted: “Not only there is no impediment and any obstacle on the way of deepening our relations, but also there is openness and readiness to deepen these relations without any limitations. I already mentioned it to our Chinese colleagues. We noted the strategic nature of our relations, and we see the mutual interest in levelling up these relations officially as well.”

Mirzoyan said that political dialogue between Yerevan and Beijing is “intense and active”, adding that Armenia seeks to push for stronger bonds with China, not just in trade and infrastructure but also in culture and people-to-people exchange.

When asked about the prospects for 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 support the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation.”

Responding to a question on the process of normalization of relations with neighbors, including Türkiye,  Mirzoyan said: “Such normalisation would be crucial to Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace plan, which was unveiled in 2023 with the aim of improving connectivity between Armenia and its neighbours as well as the 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 the Belt and Road Initiative – Beijing’s transcontinental infrastructure and investment programme – and the Global Gateway, the EU’s €300 billion investment strategy.

Photo credit: MFA