The next meeting of the 3+3 South Caucasus cooperation platform will take place in Iran according to Azerbaijani foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

Bayramov, according to the Iranian Mehr news agency, announced the news on Monday following a meeting in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

The "3+3" platform for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus, a Turkish initiative, would include Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Armenia and Georgia.

Georgia has said it will not participate in the format because of Moscow’s participation.

The first meeting of the platform” was held in Moscow last December.

The Iranian foreign minister, during a joint press conference with Bayramov, announced that he and his Azerbaijani counterpart had discussed a variety of issues including developing Tehran-Baku ties and cooperation and preserving the territorial integrity of countries. 

Amir-Abdollahian said he and Bayramov also discussed the Karabakh conflict, and that Iran had always declared its readiness to resolve the crisis through dialog.

"We are ready for the remaining issues to be resolved based on respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the parties and through dialogue and diplomacy," he added.

Amir-Abdollahian said that during his visit to Ankara last week, he and the Turkish foreign minister agreed to hold a tripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Iranian foreign minister said he and Bayramov will also discuss the possibile visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Iran. 

Bayramov said that Azerbaijan wants to normalize relations with Armenia and has presented a five-point peace proposal to Yerevan.

"We also announced our readiness to reopen road transport and inter-regional communication in Azerbaijan and made suggestions about the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

Photo: Iranian Foreign Ministry