Former US Co-Chair Declares OSCE Minsk Group Obsolete

Former US Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard Hoagland has stated that the group, long tasked with mediating peace negotiations in the Karabakh conflict, is effectively obsolete in today’s geopolitical context.

“As a former U.S. co-chair of the Minsk Group, I can say that its time has really come and gone,” said Hoagland, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

“For many years, actually for decades, the Minsk Group negotiated between Azerbaijan and Armenia to try to find a solution for Nagorno-Karabakh. But it was only in the end, when Karabakh was finally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, that this solution came. Now there are still details to be worked out, obviously, but it is very, very positive that the two capitals, Baku and Yerevan, are now working together. This means that the Minsk Group is really no longer needed. That was a thing of the past. Let's move into the future,” Hoagland added.