OSCE initiates formal process to dissolve Minsk Group structures — official

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has officially launched the process of liquidating the Minsk Group and its associated institutions, Toni Sandell, spokesperson and deputy head of the Task Force for the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship, stated.

"The Secretariat of the Organization has already started practical steps to implement the decision of the OSCE Permanent Council of September 1 in response to the appeal of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Secretariat is taking steps to complete the Minsk process and related structures. This concerns personnel issues, archival materials and administration. Only technical functions – such as the transfer of property and equipment – will be carried out until the final completion of the process, which must be done no later than December 1 this year," Sandell noted, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

According to him, the process involves several key operational areas, including the staff of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the High-Level Planning Group, and the management of documentation and archives.

The Minsk Group was established in 1992 by a decision of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (the precursor to the OSCE) with the aim of facilitating a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In 1994, a co-chairmanship format was introduced, comprising Russia, the United States, and France, which remained in place for nearly three decades.

For much of that time, the Minsk Group was regarded as the primary international platform for negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, following Azerbaijan's victory in the 2020 Patriotic War, the group’s relevance rapidly diminished. Its role was rendered effectively obsolete after September 2023, when Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and full sovereignty, and officially declared the conflict resolved through its own means.

Baku had since made multiple appeals for the formal dissolution of the Minsk Group, urging Yerevan to jointly petition the OSCE to terminate the long-standing, yet largely defunct, mediation framework.

This diplomatic turning point came on August 8, 2025, when the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a joint appeal in Washington calling for the closure of the Minsk process and all associated structures.

By Vafa Guliyeva