Minister Fidan opens the '3+3' meeting held in Istanbul
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, at the 3rd meeting of the South Caucasus Regional Cooperation Platform, drew attention to Israel's oppression in the Middle East and the turbulent processes in the region, emphasizing the importance of dialogue and cooperation.
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The 3rd meeting of the South Caucasus Regional Cooperation Platform is being held in Istanbul.
The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
''ONE PARTICIPANT IS MISSING''
Foreign Minister Fidan delivered a speech at the opening of the meeting.
In his speech, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “Today, we have come together for the 3rd meeting of the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform, which is a consultation ground aimed at ensuring lasting peace in the South Caucasus and evaluating cooperation opportunities. I welcome the Foreign Ministers and delegations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Russia to Istanbul. The idea of establishing this mechanism, which we briefly define as the 3+3 Platform, emerged in the weeks following the signing of the tripartite declaration dated November 9, 2020, which established the ceasefire in the 2nd Karabakh War. Its main goal is to respond to the need for a platform where all issues closely concerning the South Caucasus can be addressed. Although the platform is called 3+3, unfortunately, one of our participants is missing in the room. I would like to express once again in your presence that the place of our close neighbor and friend Georgia remains reserved and that it can join this platform whenever it wishes.”
JOINT DECLARATION COMING
Drawing attention to the escalating crisis in the Middle East, Fidan said, “The turbulent processes we are experiencing in our immediate geography, the wars, and the spiral of humanitarian disaster and oppression by Israel in the Middle East once again reveal how important dialogue and cooperation are at the regional level. Our understanding of regional ownership lies at the foundation of our perspective on the South Caucasus. We believe that the states of that region know the regional problems best and can solve them. Indeed, as a manifestation of this vision, we foresee adopting a joint declaration regarding the main outcomes of our meeting at the end of our discussions.”