Istanbul to host '3+3' format meeting on South Caucasus

The meeting of the regional platform “3+3” will be held in Istanbul on October 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

“The third meeting of this platform aimed at peace, stability, and cooperation in the South Caucasus will be held on October 18 in Istanbul. Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and the Russian Federation will also take part in the meeting,” Fidan said.

Russia also confirmed that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the ‘3+3’ format meeting on South Caucasus in Istanbul on October 18, the ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The '3+3' format was proposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey. In 2021, the first meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers of five countries took place in Moscow. The last meeting at the level of foreign ministers took place in Tehran in October, 2023.

The proposed format included six countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia, Turkey and Iran. Later, the format was dubbed '3+3'. Russia and Iran welcomed this idea, also joined by Armenia. Georgia, however, said that it will not participate in this initiative.