Moscow urges Baku and Yerevan to agree on "3+3" meeting date

Russia is waiting for Azerbaijan and Armenia to take concrete steps to agree on the dates of the next meeting of foreign ministers within the framework of the "3+3" regional cooperation platform.

According to TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the statement during a press briefing.

She noted that the platform — which brings together Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, and Türkiye — provides “a good venue for discussing Armenian-Azerbaijani normalisation and other issues relevant to the South Caucasus.”

“We expect our Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues to take active steps to reach an agreement on the venue and timing of the next meeting of the foreign ministers of the participating states as soon as possible,” Zakharova said.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also emphasised that Moscow remains ready to “provide partners with the necessary assistance on a wide range of issues.”

The "3+3" format was first proposed at the end of 2020 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a six-party platform (Russia, Türkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia) for dialogue on cooperation in the South Caucasus and the Middle East. Although Georgia has been repeatedly invited to join, it has not yet taken part.

The platform held its inaugural meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Moscow in December 2021. The second session — and the first at the foreign minister level — took place in October 2023 in Tehran. The most recent gathering was held on October 18, 2024, in Istanbul.

By Tamilla Hasanova