We have repeatedly said that with the termination of contact between the American and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group and the Russian co-chairs and this happened in February 2022 as well as with the recognition by Armenia of Karabakh as an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan-European Union-France summit in Prague this happened on October 6, 2022 as well as with a radical change in the situation on the ground and this was in the fall of 2023 this very mandate of the OSCE Minsk Conference co-chairs has lost its relevance, which has been approved by the OSCE. Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this at Thursday’s press briefing.
This was how Zakharova responded to the following question from an Azerbaijani reporter: “Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking in parliament on Tuesday, called for dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group in accordance with the demands of the Azerbaijani side. How does Moscow perceive the readiness of Armenia’s leader? And what else, in your opinion, should be done as soon as possible to sign a peace treaty?”
“We have repeatedly discussed this topic. Accordingly, as a consequence, all organizations of the Minsk Conference the Minsk Group, the High-Level Planning Group, and the position of the current OSCE Representative’s Personal Representative on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are subject to dissolution.
We believe that the optimal option for making a corresponding decision is the joint proposal of Baku and Yerevan to dissolve these institutions.
For our [i.e. Russia] part, we intend to continue to assist our colleagues in overcoming the remaining obstacles to signing a peace treaty and in unblocking transport and economic communications, delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, resolving humanitarian issues.
And, of course, we always confirm our readiness to provide a Russian platform for negotiations between representatives of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the full spectrum of bilateral issues, including the signing of a peace treaty," Zakharova said.
