OSCE stands ready to close Minsk Group process, with France supporting group's dissolution

OSCE

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) welcomed the Joint Declaration signed on 8 August in Washington. It's after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who signed an historic declaration for peace.

The OSCE remains committed to all efforts aimed at bringing lasting peace and stability to both countries, stated in its statement.

"We welcome the August 8 Joint Declaration signed in Washington D.C., congratulate Armenia and Azerbaijan on this development and commend President Donald Trump of the U.S.A. on his role in bringing it about" said OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu.

In addiion, the OSCE stands ready to fulfil its task for the implementation of the 8 August Joint Declaration.

Armenian and Azerbaijani Ministers of Foreign Affairs signed a joint appeal to the OSCE on the closure of its Minsk Process and related structures.

"We call on all OSCE participating States to adopt this decision," - the declaration stated. 

By welcoming the peace declaration and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, France—one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group—has expressed its support for the dissolution of the group's related structures.

"The results achieved thanks to the commitment of the United States are a major step forward. The signing and ratification as soon as possible of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will complete this process. With a view to this, France supports the parties’ joint call for the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures" the statement of French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs reads.

The statement noted that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the development of regional connectivity and the reopening of borders, in compliance with the states’ territorial integrity and sovereignty, must enable the South Caucasus to become an area of peace and prosperity, benefitting the people of the region.

Alongside its European partners, France will continue to work actively to this end, including as part of the European Political Community.

At its 1992 meeting in Helsinki, the CSCE Council tasked the Chairman-in-Office with convening a peace conference in Minsk to address the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The 1994 OSCE Budapest Summit established the Minsk Group to advance this peace process, co-chaired by Russia, the United States, and France. Its permanent members include Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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