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OSCE finalizes dissolution of Minsk Group formed to resolve Karabakh conflict

Head of the OSCE PA Turkish Delegation Selami Altinok delivers a speech on the second day of the 23rd Autumn General Assembly Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Türkiye on Nov. 18, 2025. (AA Photo)
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Head of the OSCE PA Turkish Delegation Selami Altinok delivers a speech on the second day of the 23rd Autumn General Assembly Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Türkiye on Nov. 18, 2025. (AA Photo)
December 01, 2025 02:39 PM GMT+03:00

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has completed the dissolution of the Minsk Group, the body created more than three decades ago to help resolve the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict and the Karabakh issue.

In a statement, the OSCE confirmed that the Minsk Group and all related structures were officially closed as of 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30.

The Minsk Group was established in 1992 to mediate the Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The group, co-chaired by Russia, the United States, and France, failed to produce a lasting solution to the long-standing conflict.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) Pere Joan Pons delivers a speech on the second day of the 23rd Autumn General Assembly Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Türkiye on Nov. 18, 2025. (AA Photo)
Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) Pere Joan Pons delivers a speech on the second day of the 23rd Autumn General Assembly Meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul, Türkiye on Nov. 18, 2025. (AA Photo)

Azerbaijan tied peace agreement to group’s termination

Azerbaijan had made the Minsk Group’s dissolution a precondition for signing a peace agreement with Armenia.

Baku repeatedly argued that the group had become obsolete after Azerbaijan restored control over Karabakh.

Following the Aug. 8 trilateral summit at the White House hosted by US President Donald Trump with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, the foreign ministers of both countries jointly submitted a request to the OSCE to abolish the Minsk Group.

OSCE Ministerial decision completes the process

The OSCE Ministerial Council later adopted a decision to dissolve the Minsk Group and all associated bodies.

The decision also requires that all technical matters arising from the group’s closure be completed by Dec. 1, 2025.

The termination formally ends the mandate of a mediation format that operated for more than 30 years but struggled to achieve progress on the Karabakh issue.

December 01, 2025 02:39 PM GMT+03:00
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