Even before the 44-day war in 2020, it was already an indisputable fact that Ankara and Baku were doing everything possible to block the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. For years, Baku and Ankara have consistently complained about the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. Their goal was clear. They especially tried to find a “partner” in the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to destroy this format and found that “partner” was Moscow.
Russia-West tensions had not yet reached a peak, and Moscow was pursuing its own interests in establishing its role as the main arbiter in the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia trilateral format.
The 44-day war is proof that Baku and Ankara have already blocked the OSCE Minsk Group with the support of Moscow, and as Erdogan and Aliyev imagined and repeatedly stated, “only Moscow can solve the Karabakh problem.” And they “solved” it…
After the war in Ukraine, when Russia-West relations reached their peak, it was already clear that the platform of the OSCE Minsk Group, which was probably the last platform where Western countries had contacts with Moscow, could no longer function. Yes, the West, so to speak, officially closed the door to Moscow in the OSCE MG after the war in Ukraine. But hadn’t Moscow already practically blocked the activities of that format when, after the 44-day war in Artsakh, it entered into trilateral talks and agreements with the parties, not forgetting to satisfy Turkey’s whims? The establishment of a Russian-Turkish monitoring center and separate talks with Ankara not only on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but also on various issues related to the signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement. And the occasional statements from Russia about the OSCE Minsk Group in recent months are, to put it mildly, ridiculous.
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Probably, a very remarkable statement from Washington was made a few days ago to check the degree of sincerity of Moscow. Although the United States has severed ties with Russia over the war in Ukraine, it is ready to continue cooperating on the Karabakh issue in the OSCE Minsk Group for a peaceful and lasting settlement, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in an interview with RFE / RL. In response to the question about cooperating with Russia, Donfried answered, “Yes! Russia is a co-chair of the Minsk Group. So yes. France, the United States and Russia will continue that format. ”
It would be naive to think that a high-ranking American official in Yerevan expressed his personal opinion on the possibility of resuming Washington-Moscow contacts in the OSCE Minsk Group. It is clear that this was the position of official Washington in Yerevan, which was addressed to Moscow.
Moscow was quick to respond to the US official’s message. A quick but funny answer was heard, it turned out, Moscow doubts the sincerity of the statement made by the representative of the American government… The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said, “I would like to allow myself to doubt the sincerity of Karen Donfried’s statement. If Washington and Paris considered the exceptional mediation format of the Minsk Group really important, they would not allow themselves to ignore the mandate approved by all member states.”
Zakharova reiterated that they are interested in the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and can not allow the “politicized steps of individual foreign actors” to undermine the already difficult efforts to restore stability and peace in the region. In other words, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson believes that the resumption of the OSCE Minsk Group will undermine Moscow’s “efforts” to restore stability and peace in the region. It should be noted that Washington publicly offered Moscow to resume talks on the Karabakh issue, and Moscow, as it does not really want to resume the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, publicly replied, “We do not believe that the United States is sincere …”
The question is important here, and why does Moscow not want to resume talks on Karabakh within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group at this stage? For one simple reason: the resumption of the OSCE Minsk Group means discussions on the status of Artsakh within the framework of the principles developed by the OSCE Minsk Group, including respect for the principle of self-determination of nations. And Moscow, within the framework of the program drawn up by Baku and Ankara, has taken the “discussions” to another field. They are under the auspices of Moscow within the framework of trilateral agreements, which is in the interests of Ankara and Baku.
In the same briefing, immediately after “doubting” the sincerity of the US representative, Zakharova stressed that Moscow was ready to host the second session of the Armenian-Azerbaijani demarcation commission in the near future. This is an issue that Moscow is reminded about almost every week and openly shows that they are in a hurry to reach an agreement. Zakharova said that the next sitting of the commission on demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will be held in Moscow in the near future. “Regular incidents and problems in certain border regions of Azerbaijan and Armenia confirm the need and urgency of the full and permanent work of the Commission on Demarcation,” Zakharova said, commenting on a recent incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border that resulted in the death of one Armenian soldier.
Emma Gabrielyan
