The regional consultative platform "3+3" (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia plus Russia, Iran and Turkey) established in December 2021 is a needed and perspective mechanism, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said.

His remarks came in an interview with TASS, answering a question about how the work in the 3+3 format on the South Caucasus is progressing.

 "Our plans are to actively use it to develop cooperation between the South Caucasus countries and their neighbors. The logic of such cooperation implies a collective consideration of issues of common interest, which do not exacerbate political contradictions and contribute to mutual trust. We are talking primarily about the search for answers to regional challenges and the resolution of emerging problems by the regions themselves. Involvement of all regional states in this process creates favorable conditions for establishing a dialogue, for example, between Yerevan and Baku, Yerevan and Ankara through the implementation of mutually beneficial projects in the areas of trade, energy, industry, innovative technologies and modernization of infrastructure," he said.

According to Rudenko, currently the preparation for the second meeting of the format is underway. We expect to hold it by the end of the first half of the year: "As for unblocking the transport and economic ties, the specialized trilateral working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia is engaged in it. A lot of work has been done in this direction. We are moving towards the speedy adoption of a specific decision which will enable the launch of specific projects in the region," he added.