Why The OSCE Minsk Group Is Ending -- And What Comes Next

"It was set up by OSCE's predecessor, the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) 33 years ago in the middle of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war as a way of providing a forum for settling the conflict. In many ways, there were high hopes at the time that the international community could solve the issue in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and rapid democratization in the former Warsaw pact countries."

"But the group fleshed out a structure, which included three permanently rotating co-chairs -- France, Russia and the United States -- as well as a number of participating states that -- apart from the belligerents Armenia and Azerbaijan -- also included Belarus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Turkey. The objectives were clear: achieve a cessation of all hostilities, find a negotiated resolution, and provide OSCE peacekeepers to maintain order."

"On September 1, the OSCE's 57 member states unanimously decided to wind down the OSCE Minsk Group by the end of the year. Created in 1992 to find a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, the group has been effectively moribund since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Then, last month, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a US-brokered peace treaty outside of the group."

The OSCE Minsk Group was established in 1992 to facilitate a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A conference in Minsk was planned but never held. It developed a structure with three permanently rotating co-chairs (France, Russia and the United States) and participating states including Belarus, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Turkey. Its objectives included ending hostilities, negotiating a settlement, and deploying OSCE peacekeepers. The group has been effectively moribund since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On September 1, OSCE members unanimously decided to wind the group down by year-end after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a US-brokered peace treaty outside the group.

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