By planning to arrange the next round of ministerial talks over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the OSCE Minsk Group is diminishing the value of the entire process, according to Sergey Shakaryants, a Yerevan-based political analyst.

“The OSCE Minsk Group’s mandate was determined on a higher level – that of the UN Security Council. So that diminishes the mandate’s significance and influence,” he told a news conference on Friday, commenting upon the mediators’ statement issued after the recent talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.

Shakaryan said he finds the co-chairs’ remarks somewhat surprising against the backdrop of the regional developments.

“They do not make any sense at the moment, with the ceasefire being repeatedly violated in the conflict zone. Yet the co-chairs keep making calls for a new meeting,” he added.