Does Azerbaijan need the OSCE Minsk Group?

Baku/12.11.21/Turan: The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Andrew Shaffer - USA, Igor Khovaev - Russia and Brice Rockefel - France) made a statement on the eve of the meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan held in Paris on November 10 ...

The co-chairs held separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, then a joint meeting of the mediators and ministers took place.

“The Co-Chairs and Foreign Ministers continued, started in New York, discussions on a number of possible de-escalation measures and next steps in this process, including future meetings in this format and the proposed visit of the Co-Chairs to the region. The Co-Chairs and Ministers also discussed the implementation of the commitments envisaged in the trilateral statement on Karabakh dated November 9, 2020,” the statement published on the OSCE website says.

The Co-Chairs reaffirmed the importance of making progress on humanitarian issues, including the issue of detainees, demining, missing persons, protection of historical and cultural sites. They also called on the parties to grant unrestricted access to international humanitarian organizations, as well as to avoid provocative rhetoric and actions.

Is it beneficial for Azerbaijan to revitalize the OSCE Minsk Group? Who is interested in reviving this structure?

Conflict expert Avaz Hasanov answered these and other questions in the "Difficult Question" program.

According to him, from now on, the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group should be viewed from a different point of view, different from the previous one.

“Earlier, Azerbaijan demanded the return of the occupied territories and therefore the mediation of this structure could bring some benefit. In addition, at a time when we were not yet fully prepared for the liberation of the occupied territories, Azerbaijan needed such a platform to express its position and protests. Now, after Azerbaijan has practically restored its territorial integrity, there is no such need, "Avaz Hasanov said, noting that there is a Russian peacekeeping contingent in the Armenian-populated part of Karabakh and it is not known what will happen in a few years - whether" the peacekeepers will leave »Azerbaijan, after the expiration of their stay in Karabakh, or will this period be extended? Therefore, we cannot, should not turn out from the international platform.

According to the expert, the integration of the Armenians of Karabakh into Azerbaijan is a long and difficult process. And therefore, if we have no plans to conduct a counter-terrorist operation in Karabakh, and we intend to integrate Armenians into Azerbaijan, then we must be ready for a "long journey" and here, of course, the OSCE Minsk Group may come in handy. But at the same time, it should be remembered that this is nothing more than a negotiating platform. –0--