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Russia hopes for an early launch of the three-plus-three talks on Transcaucasia (by Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia in one group and Russia, Turkey and Iran in the other), but at the same time it is aware of the US-led Western countries’ attempts to impede this process, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday, TASS reported.

"We see the intention of some Western countries, in the first place, the United States, to hamper some processes. To put a spoke in the wheel," Zakharova said. "For our part, we are determined to see an early launch of this regional 3+3 mechanism of consultations in the interests of all of its participants." She stressed that in its attempts to impede the start of negotiations the United States wrongly attributed this initiative to Moscow.

Zakharova recalled that in reality the idea of such consultations was put forward by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"As you may know, Russia supported this initiative. We proceed from the understanding that multilateral regional cooperation matches perfectly the interests of all parties involved. The way we see it, the launch of this mechanism would enhance trust in inter-state relations, help settle the existing contradictions and tap the region’s economic, transport and humanitarian potential," Zakharova said.