Finland chairs OSCE consultations on ending Minsk Group and related institutions

Finland, currently serving as chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), will take the lead in discussions with participating states regarding a joint request from Azerbaijan and Armenia to close the Minsk Group and its related structures. This was confirmed at the OSCE headquarters, according to domestic media.

An official OSCE spokesperson noted that the Secretariat stands ready to implement all decisions arising from these consultations. The organisation received the joint appeal from Baku and Yerevan on August 11, proposing that the OSCE Ministerial Council decide on the formal closure of the Minsk Group and associated institutions.

“We welcome the agreements signed in Washington on August 8, congratulate Armenia and Azerbaijan on this achievement, and highly appreciate the role of the US administration in facilitating this process,” the OSCE statement said.

The spokesperson reiterated the OSCE’s ongoing commitment to efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

The OSCE Minsk Group was originally established in 1992 to mediate a peaceful resolution to the Karabakh conflict. Following the Patriotic War in late 2020, which concluded with Azerbaijan’s victory, Baku repeatedly asserted that the Karabakh issue had been resolved and that the Minsk Group and its institutions were no longer necessary. Consequently, Azerbaijan proposed that Armenia join in a formal appeal to the OSCE requesting the group’s dissolution.

On August 8 in Washington, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, in the presence of the countries’ leaders and the US administration, signed the joint appeal calling for the Minsk Group’s closure. Dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group was one of Azerbaijan’s two conditions for signing a peace treaty with Armenia.

The Minsk Group includes the three co-chair countries—the United States, Russia, and France—as well as Belarus, Germany, Italy, Türkiye, Finland, Sweden, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

By Tamilla Hasanova