The Georgian side will not be represented at a ministerial meeting within the 3+3 regional platform on South Caucasus in Istanbul on October 18, the Georgian Foreign Ministry’s press service told TASS, Paralel.Az reports.

"No, we will not participate [in the ministerial meeting within the 3+3 regional platform in Istanbul]. Georgia has been stating for a long time that it does not work in this format," the press service said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan put forward the idea of a six-party format for cooperation in the South Caucasus in late 2020 (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Türkiye, Iran). It was later called the ‘3+3’ format. Russia and Iran welcomed the idea, Armenia also joined the initiative, while Georgia refused to engage in it. On December 10, 2021, Moscow hosted the first meeting of the consultative regional platform, involving deputy foreign ministers of these five countries. The last meeting at the level of foreign ministers was held in Tehran on October 2023.