Russia: U.S. seeks to prevent launch of "3+3" platform in Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia is expecting an earliest possible launch of the "3+3" regional cooperation format (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Iran - Ed.) in South Caucasus, amid "attempts of Western countries led by the United States to hinder this process", the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told a briefing on Thursday, October 21.

"We see the desire of a number of Western states, primarily the United States, to interfere with some processes, just to put a spoke in the wheels of this undertaking," Zakharova noted, according to TASS.

"We, meanwhile, are focused on the earliest launch of the regional consultative mechanism known as "3+3" in the interests of all its participants."

She pointed out that the American side, in its attempts to prevent the launch of the negotiation mechanism, is "engaged in disinformation", attributing the ide to Moscow. The diplomat recalled that the initiative was first pitched by Azerbaijani and Turkish Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey have came up with the initiative. Iran has welcomed the idea, and according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow is working with Yerevan and hopes that Georgia too will express interest in creating such a mechanism.