Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov said, following the meeting of the 3+3 Regional Platform on October 18 in Istanbul that “The chair and the door are always open for them” and “As soon as Tbilisi decides, they can come and sit in their chair at any time.”
Asked if he regretted that Tbilisi did not take part in the Platform meeting, thus missing an opportunity for “almost direct Russian-Georgian contacts”, he said: “We have contacts with Tbilisi, there is a Section of Russian Federation Interests at the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Georgia. Our diplomats work there. As and when necessary, they have the opportunity to discuss current issues, primarily in the areas of trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts, directly with the relevant Georgian authorities.”
The 3+3 format, which brings together three regional powers – Iran, Turkey and Russia – as well as two South Caucasus countries- Azerbaijan and Armenia, was established in 2021, in the aftermath of 2020 Karabakh war. Despite its name, Georgia is not a member.
Sergey Lavorv added that during the 3+3 format meeting “Once again (we always do this when we meet in this format), we have confirmed that the doors of this platform always remain open for Georgia. We hope that in time Georgian neighbors will be able to join its work.”
In response to a question about the threats to regional security in the South Caucasus he said, echoing the ruling Georgian Dream narrative, that “one of the serious problems is the well-known attempts by the West to open a “second” front against Russia,” clarifying that the West wants to “light a fire” again to destabilize the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
The Russian foreign minister also accused “extra-regional players” of trying to “dictate their own terms here, to introduce their schemes aimed not at solving the problems of the region in the interests of all the countries in it, but at promoting NATO-centric formats, developing bloc processes, driving wedges… between neighboring countries… and using their capabilities as a lever of pressure”.
By way of illustration, he recalled that after the Georgian government passed the law on foreign agents, “the EU immediately declared” that Georgia was “no longer considered a priority partner for EU accession talks because it had violated “European values”.
He concluded: “If those ‘values’ are to fund subversion and advance the LGBT agenda, then that speaks for itself. It is a confession of guilt, a confession of what these “European values” represent.”
Lavrov also said: “Most of the risks we see here [in the South Caucasus] are related to the West’s attempts to maximize its influence in the region in order to undermine the Russian Federation’s opportunities for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries of the South Caucasus and our state.”
Also Read:
- 01/11/2023 – Foreign Affairs Committee Chair: No 3+3 Participation without De-occupation
- 24/10/2023 – 3+3 Platform Calls for Georgia’s ‘Equal Participation’
- 14/01/2022 – Lavrov Hopes Baku, Ankara, Yerevan Can Convince Tbilisi on Joining 3+3
- 12/11/2021 – Russian MFA Notes Tbilisi’s ‘Contradictory Statements’ on 3+3 Platform