OSCE Minsk Group

Why in news?

• The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.

About the group:

• The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)).
• Its objective is to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
• The Minsk Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States.
• Furthermore, the Minsk Group also includes the following participating states: Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Turkey as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.

About Nagorno-Karabakh:

• Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but mostly governed by the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh.
• The predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been a constant source of dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• Republic of Artsakh is reliant on and closely integrated with Armenia, in many ways functioning de facto as part of Armenia.
• It is a landlocked region which is mostly mountainous and forested.
• Since September 2020, clashes have resumed with both the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia reporting military and civilian casualties.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following pairs of conflict zones and the countries in which they are located: 
1.Sanaa – Yemen
2.Mogadishu – Ethiopia
3.Raqqa-Syria
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a)1 and 2 only
(b)2 and 3 only
(c)1 and 3 only
(d)1,2, and 3
    
Answer to prelims question