ArmInfo.Georgia has not yet officially responded to the proposal to create a "3 + 3" format for the Transcaucasus. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko stated.
"Georgia has not officially reacted. But recently Georgia has declared its disinterest in participating in this mechanism," Rudenko said in an interview with journalists, Russian media reported.
At the same time, he stressed that Russia views the mechanism as a very important, forward-looking and promising format where regional security issues can be discussed with the participation of regional states.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that the parties discussed the possibility of creating a "3 + 3" format. As the Russian minister noted, the Iranian side expressed a positive attitude towards this idea, the same attitude is observed in Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Russian Federation is working with colleagues from Armenia, and also hopes that Georgia will be able to see its fundamental interest in creating such a mechanism.
In turn, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, commenting on Lavrov's statement, noted that it would be difficult for Tbilisi to participate in the "3 + 3" format together with Russia, nevertheless, the country should be represented in some form in major geopolitical projects.