OSCE Minsk Group Mechanism No Longer Functions, Says US Co-Chair

The OSCE Minsk Group mechanism is no longer operational. This was stated by Philip Reeker, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and senior advisor on Caucasus negotiations, during a discussion titled “Assessing US Policy in the Caucasus” organized in the US Senate.

“The main objectives of the Minsk Group remain, and I am maintaining contact with France. Azerbaijan has also stated that it will no longer engage with the Minsk Group. I believe everything will reach a point where we can consensually terminate that mandate, as the mechanism is no longer functional,” Reeker said.

It is worth mentioning that the OSCE Minsk Group was established to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The decision to form the group was adopted by the Council of Ministers of the OSCE member states on March 24, 1992. The Minsk Group includes Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1997, the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairmanship was formed, consisting of Russia, France, and the United States.