Azerbaijan Society of America Welcomes the Closure of the OSCE Minsk Group
The Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA) welcomes the official closure of the OSCE Minsk Group, a long-overdue and necessary step toward a more equitable and results-driven regional peace process in the South Caucasus.
Established in 1992 under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Minsk Group was tasked with facilitating a peaceful resolution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over the Karabakh region. However, over more than three decades, the Group, co-chaired by the United States, France, and Russia, failed to deliver tangible results. Its record is marked by diplomatic stagnation, political bias, and a failure to uphold the principles of international law.
Despite clear guidance from the United Nations Security Council, which adopted four binding resolutions in 1993 (Resolutions 822, 853, 874, and 884) calling for the immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Minsk Group took no effective action to enforce these resolutions. Instead, its co-chairs often adopted a passive and unbalanced stance, tolerating Armenia’s prolonged occupation of nearly 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, including seven surrounding districts beyond Karabakh.
The OSCE Minsk Group's consistent inaction and partiality eroded trust in its mandate. In particular, the Group failed to hold Armenia accountable for ethnic cleansing, the displacement of nearly one million Azerbaijanis, and the systematic destruction of cultural and civilian infrastructure in the occupied areas.
The 2020 Second Karabakh War fundamentally reshaped the situation on the ground. Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity in accordance with international law and the aforementioned UN resolutions. The trilateral ceasefire agreement of November 10, 2020, brokered independently of the OSCE framework confirmed the obsolescence of the Minsk Group’s mission.
The closure of the Minsk Group is therefore a necessary and overdue development, clearing the path for a more constructive and inclusive regional dialogue based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and international norms.
In this context, the Azerbaijan Society of America reiterates its call for the full repeal of Section 907 of the U.S. Freedom Support Act, a misguided and discriminatory provision enacted in 1992 that restricts direct U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan. Section 907 ignores Azerbaijan’s strategic partnership with the United States and unfairly punishes a victim of aggression, while rewarding an occupying force.
Azerbaijan has consistently demonstrated its commitment to peaceful coexistence, reconstruction in liberated territories, and the integration of all communities into a secure and prosperous future.
ASA urges the U.S. government and international partners to embrace a new framework for South Caucasus engagement one that is grounded in justice, legal clarity, and a forward-looking approach to peace, development, and integration.
