OSCE completes closure of Minsk Process and related structures

The OSCE has formally wound up the Minsk Process, shutting down its mediation structures after a joint appeal from Armenia and Azerbaijan and a consensus decision by all 57 participating states.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has finalised the closure of the Minsk Process and all its related structures, drawing a line under its long-running mediation format between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The mandate expired at 23:59 on 30 November 2025, in line with Ministerial Council decision MC.DEC/1/25 adopted on 1 September 2025.

According to the organisation, the completion of all required administrative steps marks the formal conclusion of the closure process. The decision implements the 1 September consensus by all 57 OSCE participating states, which backed shutting down the format following a joint political move by Yerevan and Baku.

The Ministerial Council decision came in the wake of a historic Joint Declaration signed in Washington D.C. on 8 August 2025 by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, with U.S. President Donald J. Trump acting as witness. That document signalled the two neighbours’ intention to move beyond decades of OSCE-led mediation towards a new phase of bilateral and internationally supported normalisation.

In their Joint Appeal to the Finnish Chairpersonship of the OSCE earlier this year, Armenia and Azerbaijan requested that the Minsk Process and its affiliated structures be closed, arguing that the format no longer reflected the realities on the ground or the direction of their talks. The appeal paved the way for the September Ministerial Council decision and the subsequent technical work needed to dismantle the institutional framework.

With the procedural steps now completed, the Minsk Process – once a central platform for managing the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan – has been formally taken off the OSCE’s books. Diplomatic attention is expected to remain focused on direct Armenia-Azerbaijan channels and on broader regional arrangements shaped by recent agreements and high-level contacts.

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