YEREVAN, August 27. /TASS/. Armenia’s decision to officially apply to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been triggered by both continuity and change and fits in with the logic of diversifying foreign relations, Armenian Ambassador to China Vahe Gevorgyan said in an interview with the CGTN TV channel on the eve of the SCO Summit in Tianjin.

"Our decision to apply for joining the SCO is marked by both continuity and change. When I say continuity, first of all, I recall that back to 2016, Armenia already became a partner for dialogue, and in this regard, we have already had the opportunity to establish good working relations with the secretariat, as well as with the key states of this organization," the envoy said.

"When it comes to our foreign policy approaches in this regard, I would like to mention that we are trying to diversify our relations with key countries of the world, major countries of the world, but also with multilateral organizations, we believe in multilateral diplomacy, and we believe in multilateralism," the diplomat noted. "In short, we are applying with firm resolve and determination to share principles, spirit, and to work together with all key countries of that organization," he added.

Commenting on China’s chairmanship in the SCO in 2024-2025, Gevorgyan emphasized that Armenia welcomes "the resolve of China to give new quality to this regional security organization, also by bringing new ideas and new members." "Our cooperation with the Chinese chairmanship was excellent in this regard," the ambassador concluded.

Earlier, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, press secretary to the prime minister of Armenia, said that the head of the Armenian government Nikol Pashinyan will travel to China on August 31 to take part in the SCO summit.

On July 3, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced that Yerevan wants to become a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. On July 16, Pashinyan confirmed that Armenia had applied for membership in the SCO.