ISTANBUL, October 18. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in a meeting of the '3+3' platform on the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iran) in Istanbul.

According to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the meeting will involve the top diplomats of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. Georgia refused to participate.

The six-party platform for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus was initiated by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey 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.

The Russian foreign minister said after the group’s previous meeting that the door remained open for Georgia.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed earlier that Moscow saw the platform as an effective mechanism for coordinating efforts by the regional countries to achieve sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus and boost mutually beneficial cooperation.

The top Russian diplomat is expected to hold several bilateral meetings on the event’s sidelines.

Western interference

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov pointed out earlier that the United States and some other Western countries sought to interfere in the affairs of the South Caucasus under the cover of participating in a settlement process organized with Russia’s active assistance.

"Based on all previous experience of NATO countries’ mediation efforts in various parts of the world, the bloc’s move to strengthen its positions in the South Caucasus clearly will not contribute to regional stability," Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), said.

Lavrov has recently pointed out that NATO’s attempts to gain a foothold in the South Caucasus creates a threat to Russia’s security.

The '3+3' meeting is taking place ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary election, set for October 26. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR) has warned that the West might interfere in the electoral process.

Azerbaijan and Armenia

The top diplomats will definitely pay attention to the ongoing efforts to resolve the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in September that Baku and Yerevan had agreed on 80% of their peace agreement. Armenia expects that the document will be signed before the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku.

Tbilisi, Tskhinval, Sukhum

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed that Moscow, which is a party to the Geneva international discussions and the closest neighbor of Abkhazia, Georgia and South Ossetia, "has a vested interest in normalizing relations between these counties."

Lavrov said at a press conference following his participation in the High-Level Week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly that Russia was ready to support efforts aimed at establishing peace between Georgia, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Kakha Kaladze, secretary general of Georgia’s ruling party, stated that the country’s authorities were positive about the Russian foreign minister’s statement.