Ministerial meeting in 3+3 format relevant in difficult geopolitical  times 

ArmInfo.A ministerial meeting in the format of the regional platform "3+3" (Azerbaijan,  Armenia, Georgia plus Iran, Russia, Turkey) is relevant in difficult geopolitical times for stability and mutual trust. This is how Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs  Grigory Karasin commented on today's meeting of the regional platform "3+3" in Istanbul.

"This concerns not only the military-political, but also the  transport-logistics, economic and humanitarian areas. I hope that the  results of the meeting will help to bring predictability to this  sensitive region. It will not be easy to achieve this. Let's hope,"  the Russian senator wrote.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Turkey on the  evening of October 17 to participate in the meeting of the platform.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on October 15 that the  upcoming meeting would be attended by the heads of the Foreign  Ministries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. Later, the  Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, noting that Tbilisi's  position on participation in the meeting had not changed.

Press Secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Ani Badalyan told  ArmInfo that Minister Ararat Mirzoyan will take part in the meeting.  She also informed that the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry will  hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the platform.

Turkish media reported yesterday that separate meetings of Mirzoyan  with his Turkish counterpart and Turkish President Recep Tayyip  Erdogan are planned.

The second meeting of the regional platform "3+3" was held in Tehran  on October 23, 2023. It was held at the level of the foreign  ministers of 5 countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and  Turkey. Georgia again did not take part in the work of the platform.  The parties agreed to hold the next meeting within the framework of  this platform in the first half of 2024 in Turkey, however,  apparently for some reason the schedule was shifted. The first  meeting was held on December 10, 2021 in Moscow under the co-  chairmanship of the Deputy Foreign Ministers of the Russian  Federation, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and the Director General of  the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted at  the time that representatives of Georgia, who were also invited,  refrained from participating in the meeting, but the doors are always  open for them.