Sergei Shoigu: South Caucasus regional issues require regional solutions

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said that there are prerequisites for improving the situation in the South Caucasus, but Western countries are hindering progress while pursuing their own interests.

Speaking at the 12th meeting of CIS security council secretaries, he noted that Moscow expects that after the October 18 meeting in Turkey, the work of the 3+3 format (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, and Iran) will be activated.

"The situation in the South Caucasus remains complex, but there are prerequisites for its improvement. External players, acting with unseemly goals, to put it mildly, primarily Western countries, are hindering this," Shoigu said.

The Security Council Secretary emphasized that this confirms the thesis that regional problems require regional solutions.

"In the South Caucasus, we have done and are doing everything possible to strengthen the 3+3 regional cooperation platform. We hope that after the ministerial meeting in Istanbul, the work of this mechanism will become even more active," Shoigu said.