Deputy Director of the Fourth Department of the CIS Countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Masyuk stated that the collective West is trying to "pursue a policy of containing Russia in the South Caucasus." He noted that there are attempts to sow discord in Russia's relations with neighboring countries and "traditional allies in the region."

Moscow, in particular, includes Georgia among the latter, against which the West, according to Masyuk, is blackmailing, forcing it to take new aggressive steps against Sukhumi and Tskhinvali.

"Westerners continue to twist arms, blackmail the Georgian leadership and people with sanctions, demand new bloody adventures against the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia, and their accession to anti-Russian restrictions," the diplomat said.

Russia, Masyuk assures, is interested in maintaining sustainable peace and security in the South Caucasus.

"It is important for us to prevent the South Caucasus from becoming an arena of open geopolitical confrontation," the Russian Foreign Ministry representative emphasized.

Masuk also touched on the topic of regional cooperation in the "3+3" format, which, he believes, is one of the key components of Eurasian security. The diplomat is convinced that active interaction of all participants, including Georgia, for which the doors are still open, will be the key to success and stable development of the region.