OSCE Says The "Minsk Group" Is Closed

Armenia and Azerbaijan have resolved a long-standing conflict.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced that the "Minsk Group" and related structures will be closed until December 1, 2025. This decision was the result of a joint appeal by Armenia and Azerbaijan after the signing of a declaration on the complete cessation of hostilities between these countries. All 57 OSCE participating states voted for the group's liquidation, writes Radiyo Svaboda.

The declaration on the complete cessation of hostilities was signed on August 8, 2025 in Washington by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with the mediation of U.S. President Donald Trump. This was the basis for the decision to close the "Minsk Group".

The group was established in 1992 to promote the peaceful resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. For more than 30 years, it mediated negotiations, although the planned conference in Minsk never took place. The group was co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, and also included Belarus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The effectiveness of the Minsk Group declined over time, and after the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020, Azerbaijan began to believe the conflict was resolved and advocated for the group's closure. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry called the closure decision "an indicator of the recognition of international reality and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity." There has been no publication of the Armenian Foreign Ministry statement yet.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in the late 1980s with territorial and ethnic disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan and led to military clashes. According to various estimates, more than 30,000 people have died in the conflict. After the territories came under Azerbaijani control in 2023, almost all Armenians left the region.

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