Russian, Azerbaijani top diplomats discuss 3+3 format on South Caucasus

Lavrov

MOSCOW, October 20./TASS/:  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov discussed the activity of the 3+3 consultative regional platform on the South Caucasus during a telephone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The foreign ministers discussed key issues of bilateral relations, along with the regional and international agenda," the Foreign Ministry said. The two diplomats also "got on the same page regarding the activities of the 3+3 consultative regional platform," it added.

The six-party format of cooperation on Karabakh and the issue of unblocking economic and transportation ties in Transcaucasia was initiated in 2021 by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia and Iran welcomed the idea, while Georgia said it had no plans to participate in the initiative, offering its own negotiation format to Baku and Yerevan to maintain peace in the form of a "troika." On December 10, 2021, the first meeting of the consultative regional platform at the level of deputy foreign ministers was held in Moscow.