China Supports Establishment of Armenian-Turkish Relations

On September 10, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian visited Beijing at the invitation of China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. The meeting of the Armenian and Chinese foreign ministers took place on September 11.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister expressed satisfaction with dynamic developments in bilateral relations in different areas and said that between Armenia and China there is no issue which separates the two sides. Rather, there are many factors which unite the two countries.

Nalbanian reconfirmed Armenia’s position concerning China and thanked his Chinese counterpart for China’s balanced position on issues in the Caucasus.

Nalbandian presented the process of establishing Armenian-Turkish relations, as well as the efforts aimed at the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to his colleague.

The Chinese foreign minister noted China’s readiness to help in the peaceful settlement of the Karabakah conflict and in the steps directed to establishing Armenian-Turkish relations.

The ministers were keen to discuss current issues related to foreign relations, namely, reforming the UN Security Council, settling issues in the Near East, eliminating the effects of the financial economic crisis and climate change.

During the meeting, both sides thoroughly discussed fostering economic cooperation and the process of implementing agreements. A decision was made to schedule the Armenian-Chinese intergovernmental commission meeting on December 2009 in Beijing.

During the foreign ministers’ meeting, which lasted about 3 hours, the sides touched upon issues of cooperation in the areas of education, science and culture. Both sides placed importance on increasing the number of Chinese students in Armenian academic institutions and Armenian students in Chinese institutions. They also signed an agreement stating that each country would honour the other country’s academic degrees within their own academic institutions.

It was satisfactorily noted that days celebrating Chinese culture are to be held in Armenia in November 2009. The opportunity to organize days that celebrate Armenian culture in China was also discussed.