Aliyev and Pashinyan against the OSCE Minsk Group

Over the weekend, what many experts in Armenia predicted in advance happened. Official Yerevan expressed its readiness to meet another Ilham Aliyev’s demand and dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group. “The Republic of Armenia considers the possibility of applying to the OSCE for the dissolution of the MG. On 19 December, 2024, in an interview with Armenpress, when asked about Armenia’s stance regarding the idea of dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group, Prime Minister Pashinyan said, ‘Constructive. We understand the stance that if there is no conflict, what’s the meaning of the existence of a format dealing with the conflict resolution,” Pashinyan’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said.

Recall that on January 7, during an interview with local TV channels, the Azerbaijani president not only called Armenia a “fascist state”, but also demanded to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group as soon as possible. After that, Nikol Pashinyan held a government meeting, and after it released a statement in which he described his vision of peace with Baku, expressing his willingness to discuss the topic of the “return” of Azerbaijanis to Armenia, as well as the dissolution of the Minsk Group. His press secretary only brought this play to its logical conclusion, finally removing questions about the future of the OSCE Minsk Group.
First of all, we note that, according to the “good old” tradition, Pashinyan and Aliyev played synchronously again. Aliyev made threats, while Pashinyan promptly agreed to trample on another red line.
Secondly, if the assumption is correct, and we are really dealing with collusion, then within its framework, Pashinyan is still helping Aliyev legitimize the very fact of the “solution of the Karabakh problem” by force, legitimizes ethnic cleansing.

This, in turn, combined with the Azerbaijani occupation in Jermuk and Sev Lich, opens an Overton window on the use of force against Armenia itself. By dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group, official Yerevan legitimizes Azerbaijan’s “right” to future escalations, because Yerevan itself does everything for the aggressor to not be punished, at least within the framework of the format created to resolve the Artsakh issue.

This is a one-way street that does not bode well for Armenia.

Think about it…