3+3 South Caucasus cooperation meeting in Tehran; Actors’ goals and interests

Online Economy – Mehdi Faizollahi; The foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia, hosted by Iran’s foreign minister, will meet in Tehran today on November 1, 1402 to attend the second “3+3” meeting to discuss the issues of the South Caucasus region and try to Expand regional cooperation. One of the goals of the formation of this regional group is to solve regional problems with the presence of regional countries and without the interference of extra-regional and western countries. The most important goal of the Islamic Republic of Iran from the 3+3 meeting in Tehran will be to return to the South Caucasus region, which was surprised in the Second Karabakh War and stayed away from its developments.

After the Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1976, Iran was subjected to international economic sanctions, which significantly challenged the country’s economic development and stability. Iran’s nuclear program, along with the regional foreign policy and changing its status quo, has been an important challenge for the international community. which is one of the factors of expansion and prolongation of international economic sanctions. Getting rid of the economic blockade, expanding international political and economic relations, and participating in regional and international political platforms as a regional power are very important for Iran. All of the above conditions, along with other factors, lead to an increase in Iran’s interest in actively participating in the Caucasus regional cooperation platform.
On December 21, 2021, the first meeting of the South Caucasus countries with three regional powers in the format of 3+3 was held in Moscow at the level of deputy foreign ministers. This meeting was held with the presence of the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Iranian side. It should be noted that despite the offer to the Georgian side to participate in this meeting, they did not accept. Participation in the 3+3 platform is unacceptable and harmful for Georgia for many reasons. Because 20% of Georgia’s territory is occupied by the Russian Federation, which is considered one of the leading powers in the proposed format. The war between Russia and Ukraine has once again put the dangers facing Georgia’s national security and the threat of a possible Russian military invasion on the agenda. Previously, on October 6, 2021, the Russian Foreign Minister consulted with his Iranian counterpart on the formation of a regional format. Security and economic cooperation in the region, in this way, gives the parties in the region the opportunity to open and expand new economic connections and existing transportation. For the Islamic Republic of Iran, participation in the form of 3+3 cooperation is an interesting factor for several reasons:
The active involvement of Russia and Turkey in the second Karabakh war, as well as distance from the West, put Iran in a non-actor position in the South Caucasus region, which reduced Iran’s political role to a significant extent, so participation in it led to Iran’s return to The geopolitics of the Caucasus helps. In addition, a transit corridor passed through the liberated areas of Karabakh by Azerbaijan in the Second Karabakh War, and the transit of Iranian goods was carried out through it, which became available after the Second Karabakh War. Iran is not expected that this meeting can investigate this obstacle and solve it if the conditions are suitable. The 3+3 South Caucasus cooperation gives Iran a unique opportunity to return to the region as a regional actor after the Second Karabakh War, which will significantly increase its political power in terms of economic interests. On the other hand, it will be possible to normalize relations between Iran and Azerbaijan in order to achieve common economic interests, which in turn will guarantee the security of the country.

The 3+3 platform in the region is an attempt to weaken the positions of the West, which gives Iran the opportunity to turn itself into an important regional country with new economic and political relations. The desire to break the economic blockade, weaken the influence of the West and access alternative economic markets aligns the interests of Russia and Iran.

One of the main goals of Iran’s foreign policy is to get rid of the economic blockade of the West, to establish itself as a regional country and to create international transportation corridors, thereby exporting Iranian goods and natural resources. Participating in the 3+3 South Caucasus cooperation platform has the opportunity to overcome the reduction of the economic blockade of the West, diversify export products and finally create a North-South link and the Persian Gulf-Black Sea transit corridor.

Through the mentioned transit nodes, Iran can export important resources to the Black Sea region and Europe, which is why the South Caucasus, especially the maritime part of Georgia, is a bridge that connects it to the Black Sea countries and Europe. .

The successful implementation of the Caucasus cooperation platform under the title of 3+3 will put the issues of railway infrastructure development on the agenda of the region. It will deepen the economic, political, tourism, and security relations of the countries of the region, which is a double opportunity for the Iranian side. In conclusion, it can be said that the desire of the Iranian side to actively participate in the 3+3 cooperation platform is due to economic, political, geopolitical and security interests. The Russia-Ukraine conflict raises the possibility of renewing negotiations on economic sanctions imposed on Iran and issues related to the nuclear program, however, there are still problematic issues, including the extent to which resource replacement is possible. There is Russian energy. with the Iranian side and what position Russia and Iran will take on this matter. The Caucasus 3+3 platform allows Iran to access and implement economic projects in the Caucasus or Asian regions, and at the same time, cooperation in the region creates an opportunity for sustainable and safe development.

The cooperation of the South Caucasus in the form of 3+3 will result in the benefits of other countries as follows:

With the South Caucasus cooperation platform, Russia tries to reduce the influence of the West in the region as much as possible, but at the same time with the participation of the regional powers Turkey and Iran. With this cooperation, Russia will try to become the main leading force in the region and with the participation of the Turkish and Iranian parties, will eventually reduce the influence of the West and create an alternative center of gravity in the region.

For the Armenian side, participation in the 3+3 cooperation will have many benefits; On the one hand, it creates an opportunity for the economic growth of Armenia, and on the other hand, it puts the issues of securing Armenia’s national interests on the agenda and activates security risks. The South Caucasus 3+3 cooperation gives Armenia the opportunity to get rid of the multi-year blockade, facilitate the normalization of relations between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey, build new transit corridors in the region that pass through the territories of Armenia, and rebuild.

The 3+3 cooperation platform provides Turkey as a regional country and increasing Turkey’s political and economic role in current trends in the region. It also allows Turkey to become an energy hub and encourages the creation of new transit corridors, economic and political connections.

The 3+3 format is a significant opportunity for the Azerbaijani side; By winning the second Karabakh war, this country gained significant political and economic benefits. Considering that Azerbaijan is the only country that has a land border with all countries in the region, the realization of the idea of ​​this cooperation gives it the opportunity to revive and develop or create new transit corridors.