Russia Supports Joint Decision of Azerbaijan and Armenia: Russian Representative

Russia supports the joint decision of Azerbaijan and Armenia to dissolve the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, which was engaged in mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This was stated to RBK by Alexander Lukashevich, Russia's permanent representative to the OSCE, who detailed that the group is expected to be completely dissolved by December 2025.

According to him, the discussion involves the cessation of the work of three institutions: the Minsk Group, the personal representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office, and the high-level planning group. “Considering the positions of the parties regarding the futility of maintaining them, we see no reason to prevent their dissolution,” the diplomat stated.

Alexander Lukashevich elaborated that the procedure for dissolving the Minsk Group involves the OSCE Permanent Council – the main decision-making body for political consultations – proposing that member states give 'silent consent' to the ministerial decision on this issue. If no one opposes the dissolution of the Minsk Group by September 1, the decision will be considered adopted.

“It should be noted that the implementation of administrative and financial measures related to this decision will take several months. The OSCE aims to complete these no later than December of this year. After that, all three bodies responsible for facilitating the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will cease to exist,” said Russia's permanent representative.