Russia remains interested in continuing contacts in the “3+3” format on the South Caucasus, and it hopes that this platform will resume its full-fledged work as soon as possible. Mikhail Kalugin, Director of the Fourth CIS Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Russia, stated this in an interview with TASS.

Kalugin noted that the “3+3” format—which includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, as well as Russia, Iran, and Turkey—serves as “an important tool for establishing cooperation between the South Caucasian states and their immediate neighbors on the basis of the principle of ‘regional responsibility.’”

At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that for a number of objective reasons, one of which is the situation around Iran, “a certain pause has occurred” in holding the next ministerial meeting in the “3+3” format.

“However, the interest in continuing contacts remains. We [i.e. Russia] expect that the full work of the platform will resume as soon as possible,” the Russian MFA official added.

The Russian diplomat said that the principle of “regional responsibility” implies “agreement on mutually beneficial and promising projects that meet the interests of all regional players, decisions are made without external pressure, without an ‘agenda’ imposed by outside forces.”

“It’s about not building dividing lines, not working to the detriment of any country in the region. Only on such a basis can security and economic prosperity, real and long-term peace in the South Caucasus be truly ensured,” Kalugin added.

He also recalled that the founding meeting of the “3+3” platform took place in Moscow in December 2021, and the initiators of this format were Azerbaijan and Turkey.

“In October 2023, the foreign ministers held a joint session in Tehran,” he continued. “At the ministerial meeting in Istanbul in October 2024, an agreement was reached to begin discussing specific issues of cooperation in the fields of transport, energy and culture.”

In this regard, the Russian MFA official noted that today active preparations are underway for the launch of an expert “roadmap” to discuss key and problematic issues in the activities of the “3+3,” with the participation of leading political scientists from the participating countries, including Georgia.