Georgia won’t participate in so-called 3+3 regional platform in Moscow
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani also underscored that Georgia’s engagement in this regional platform ‘will be very hard when we see no process towards de-occupation,’ noting that sovereignty and territorial integrity are ‘red lines’ for the Georgian government. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian Foreign Ministry has reiterated that Georgia will not be present at a regional meeting scheduled for December 10 in Moscow in the so-called 3+3 format proposed by Turkey and Iran in 2020 which includes Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, RFE/RL's Georgian service reports.
The ministry said earlier that despite refusal to participate in this regional initiative, it offers Azerbaijan and Armenia its own format of discussions to keep the peace in the region.
The Deputy Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Iran and Turkey will attend the meeting in Moscow.
In October of this year the Georgian Foreign Ministry released a statement which read that the country is not considering taking part in the meeting with Russia.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani also underscored that Georgia’s engagement in this regional platform ‘will be very hard when we see no process towards de-occupation,’ noting that sovereignty and territorial integrity are ‘red lines’ for the Georgian government.
Georgia and Russia suspended their diplomatic ties following the Russia-Georgia war in 2008. However, two countries have continued trade and economic discussions since 2013 under the Georgian Dream government with Georgian-Russian informal dialogue, which involves Georgian Prime Minister’s special representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and former Russian deputy foreign minister Gregory Karasin.
Following the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is a landlocked region in southwest Azerbaijan near the southeastern border of Armenia, in 2020 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put forward the idea of launching a six-nation platform that includes the cooperation of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Iran in order to establish stability and peace in the region.