Military - note Azerbaijan, in 5 editions.

since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020; Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces (the "Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army") backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994; six weeks of fighting resulted in about 6,000 6,500 deaths and ended after Armenia ceded swathes swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh territory; tensions remained high through 2021, in 2022, and both sides have accused the other of provocations since the fighting ended; Armenia has accused Azerbaijani forces of a series of border intrusions and of seizing pockets of territory

the Azerbaijani military was established in 1991, although its origins go back to 1918; much of the military’s original equipment was acquired from former Soviet military forces that left departed Azerbaijan by 1992; territorial defense is the military’s primary focus, particularly with regards to neighboring Armenia; a secondary focus is guarding against Iran; the Ground Forces have five army corps, plus an independent combined arms army, which is assigned to the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxicvan (Nakhichevan); between them, the corps and the combined arms army have more than 20 mechanized or motorized combat brigades; the Ground Forces also have separate brigades of artillery, battlefield rockets, and special forces; the Air Force has about 30 Russian-origin fighters and ground attack aircraft, as well as some combat helicopters; the Navy patrols the Caspian Sea with a corvette and several coastal patrol craft
Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in open conflicts over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in 1991-94 and 2020, plus a brief flare-up in 2016; 2020; tensions continued following the 2020 conflict; conflict, and Azerbaijan seized the entire enclave in 2023
Turkey is has been Azerbaijan’s strongest military partner, a relationship that has included weapons transfers, technical advice, bilateral training exercises, and key support during the 2020 conflict its conflicts with Armenia; military reforms over the past decade and the operations of the Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 conflict reflected Turkish influence; Azerbaijan is not part of NATO but has had a cooperative relationship with it dating back to when it joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and has provided troops to NATO-led missions in Kosovo (1999-2008) and Afghanistan (2002-2014) (2023) (2024)

the Azerbaijani military was established in 1991, although its origins go back to 1918; much of the military’s original equipment was acquired from former Soviet military forces that departed Azerbaijan by 1992; territorial defense is the military’s primary focus, particularly with regards to neighboring Armenia; a secondary focus is guarding against Iran; Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in open conflicts over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in 1991-94 and 2020; tensions continued following the 2020 conflict, and Azerbaijan seized the entire enclave in 2023
Turkey has been Azerbaijan’s strongest military partner, a relationship that has key bilateral security relationships include Israel, Russia, and Turkiye; Azerbaijan's ties with Turkiye have included weapons transfers, technical advice, bilateral training exercises, and military support during its conflicts with Armenia; Azerbaijan is not part of NATO but has had a cooperative relationship with it dating back to when it joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and has provided troops to NATO-led missions in Kosovo (1999-2008) and Afghanistan (2002-2014) (2024) (2025)