The '3+3' Format Meeting Will Be Held in Yerevan or Baku

Russia is in favor of holding the fourth ministerial meeting of the '3+3' consultative regional platform by the end of 2025. Currently, work is underway to prepare for the meeting. This announcement was made by Sergey Kopirkin, Russia's ambassador to Armenia, during a meeting with students at the Armenian-Russian University.

"We are in touch between Armenia and Azerbaijan because there is a question of sequence. That is, both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides are ready to hold such a meeting in their countries; we just need to agree on the order of the sequence. We, of course, assist in every possible way," the diplomat said.

According to the ambassador, all participants of the platform, who maintain communication with the Turkish and Iranian sides, believe that this is a useful and necessary format, and the countries of the region should play a key role in resolving regional issues.

"This is our principled position. Of course, participation from third countries may be valuable, but it must be built according to the realities and interests of the regional countries," he added.

Kopirkin also noted that many issues discussed within the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement or Armenian-American dialogue inevitably touch upon the interests of neighboring countries, which is precisely why the '3+3' platform becomes an objectively needed mechanism for multilateral dialogue.

The ambassador emphasized that the format is functioning; three meetings have already taken place. Regarding Georgia's participation, he mentioned that Georgia initially expressed interest at an expert level and participated in one of the events but withdrew later. However, according to the ambassador, all participants of the platform unanimously agree that the doors remain open for Georgia.

It is worth noting that the last session of the '3+3' platform with the participation of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan took place in Istanbul in October 2024.