Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasized “regional dialogue and cooperation.”

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in his opening speech at the 3rd Meeting of the South Caucasus Regional Cooperation Platform, stated, “The turbulent processes we are experiencing in our close geography, wars, and the humanitarian disaster and oppression spiral by Israel in the Middle East, once again highlight the importance of dialogue and cooperation at the regional level.”
The 3rd Meeting of the South Caucasus Regional Cooperation Platform is being held in Istanbul. The meeting is attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Foreign Minister Fidan delivered a speech at the opening of the meeting.
In his speech, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said, “Today, we have gathered for the 3rd meeting of the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform, which serves as a consultation ground aimed at establishing 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 trilateral statement on November 9, 2020, which provided a ceasefire in the 2nd Karabakh War. Its primary goal is to respond to the need for a platform to address all issues concerning the South Caucasus closely. Although the name of the platform is 3+3, unfortunately, we are missing one participant in the hall. I would like to express once again before you all that our close neighbor and friend Georgia’s place is permanent, and it can join this platform whenever it wishes. The turbulent processes we are experiencing in our close geography, wars, and the humanitarian disaster and oppression spiral by Israel in the Middle East, further emphasize the importance of dialogue and cooperation at the regional level. At the foundation of our perspective on the South Caucasus lies our understanding of regional ownership. We believe that regional problems are best known and can be solved by the states of that region. As a reflection of this vision, we also foresee adopting a joint declaration regarding the main outcomes of our meeting at the end of our discussions.”