France joins call to dissolve OSCE Minsk Group

France has announced its support for the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures as part of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal, following a landmark agreement reached in Washington under US mediation.

In a statement on August 8, the French Foreign Ministry said Paris “supports the parties' joint call to begin the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures” after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan initiated a peace treaty between the two countries, signed in the presence of US President Donald Trump at the White House, Caliber.Az reports via the ministry’s statement.

Calling the outcome “a decisive step forward,” the ministry stressed that the “signing and ratification, as soon as possible, of the Peace Treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will complete this process.”

France also highlighted the broader implications of the agreement, noting that the normalisation of relations, development of regional connectivity, and reopening of borders — “while respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states and the principles established by the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration” — could turn the South Caucasus into “an area of peace and prosperity, for the benefit of the region's populations.”

The ministry added that France, alongside its European partners, “will continue to actively contribute to this, particularly within the framework of the European Political Community.”

By Sabina Mammadli