Russian Deputy FM: 3+3 platform functions as pragmatic format

The regional consultative platform 3+3 functions as a pragmatic, non-politicized format aimed at bringing the countries of the South Caucasus and their neighbors closer together, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said in an interview with Sputnik, Report informs.

“In our joint work, we focus on issues of common interest working to strengthen confidence-building measures: the development of trade, economic, transport, cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as the fight against common challenges and threats. The first meeting under the 3+3 format in Moscow on December 10, 2021, showed that the participants are keen not only on maintaining a constructive dialogue, but also on establishing practical interaction,” he said, noting that despite the obvious benefits of participating in the platform, Tbilisi did not send its representatives to the first meeting.

He added that all the participants expressed their interest in Georgia joining it and agreed that the ‘door’ for this country remains open.

Earlier, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan respectively came up with the initiative of the six-sided format of cooperation on Karabakh and the issue of unblocking economic and transport ties in the Caucasus. Russia and Iran welcomed this idea, Georgia announced that it does not plan to participate in this regional initiative, but offers its own format of negotiations to Baku and Yerevan to maintain peace – in the form of a ‘troika.’