Baku demands Washington to terminate the Minsk Group

In his telephone conversation with American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan said that it would be better for the Washington government to end its mediation activities in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe-OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this context, the presidential office of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced the following in its statement: "The termination of the activities of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other relevant institutions to officially end this conflict in the past is long overdue."

Before this, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Aliyev, in his statement, evaluated the results of the joint activities of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as negative. In November 2021, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasized that 28 years have passed since the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was tasked with resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but stated that this group could not make any changes on the issue in question.

The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was established in 1992 under the co-chairmanship of three countries: Russia, America and France. The purpose of establishing this mediation group was to end the territorial and border disputes between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia. But despite this, the co-chairs of the mediation group in question could not take any positive steps other than the half-baked and discredited ceasefire agreement signed in 1994.

From May 1994 to September 2020, the Minsk Group's ceasefire was violated hundreds of times by one of the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In June, the Baku government made a proposal to Yerevan government officials to jointly request the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to formally disband this group after the Karabakh region is fully taken under control by the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, after the signing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Agreement, "James Warlick", the former American head of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and an influential western expert on Caucasus issues, said: "The 44-day period between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia "It cannot be considered that the Karabakh problem has been resolved with the end of the war." The American expert continued his statement and emphasized the following: "We cannot talk about permanent stability in the South Caucasus unless all disputes over Karabakh are resolved."

Despite seemingly constructive statements by Washington government officials regarding the peace process in the South Caucasus, senior officials of America and France threaten Russia, welcome the conflict between Baku and Yerevan, and oppose the military policies between the two countries, pitting Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan. They announced their support. Although America and France's support to Armenia did not yield much results. Because, during the continuation of this process, the military forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan managed to clear the desired regions and even expelled all Armenians living in Karabakh from this region.

In fact, America and France could not play even the slightest role in this region, despite serious threats. Undoubtedly, in this situation, the Baku government officials, especially the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who are aware that America and France cannot play a special role in the Caucasus region, have gradually managed to advance their desired policies in the Caucasus region with the help of Russia.

Considering this situation, it can be predicted that Baku authorities will increase their pressure on America and France day by day to dissolve the Minsk mediation group. As it is known, in November 2021, Russia and the Republic of Azerbaijan jointly announced the dissolution of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe./