MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. The 3+3 regional platform has already been "fleshed out" and is showing ever more promise, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov.

"The 3+3 initiative put forward by [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev, which is aimed at forming the so-called 3+3 regional platform to bring together the three South Caucasus nations and their three neighbors, is taking shape. It is a very promising mechanism. I would like to hear your assessment of further steps in this direction," Lavrov said, addressing Bayramov.

The six-party platform for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus was initiated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in late 2020. It was later named "3+3." Russia and Iran welcomed the idea, with Armenia also joining the initiative. Georgia, however, said that it had no plans to participate. On December 10, 2021, Moscow hosted the first meeting of the regional consultative platform, which brought together the five countries’ deputy foreign ministers.