Azerbaijan is moving rapidly toward deepening its cooperation with NATO, a development that has set off alarm bells in Moscow, which has long viewed the South Caucasus as part of its strategic sphere of influence.
President Ilham Aliyev recently met with a NATO delegation in Baku to discuss military modernization and alignment with NATO standards, as Azerbaijan continues to bring its armed forces closer to the alliance’s framework — with strong support from Turkey, a key NATO member and Azerbaijan’s closest ally.
This move comes at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and NATO, driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine. Analysts warn that closer Azerbaijan–NATO ties could undermine Russia’s military and energy influence in the region, threatening Moscow’s traditional dominance in the South Caucasus.
The recent U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, signed at the White House on August 8 under President Donald Trump’s mediation, further escalated regional anxiety. The deal reportedly grants the United States a 99-year lease on the Zangezur Corridor, connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia — a move viewed by Russia and Iran as a potential opening for U.S. military access in their neighborhood.
Aliyev declared that Azerbaijan’s army has already adapted to NATO standards, emphasizing the country’s growing defense partnership with Turkey and the importance of strengthening ties with the alliance.
Azerbaijan first joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994, marking the start of its Western-oriented defense cooperation — a path that now seems to be reaching its strategic peak.
Moscow, meanwhile, faces the growing reality that one of its former Soviet partners is aligning militarily and politically with the Western alliance — a clear challenge to the Kremlin’s fading influence in the South Caucasus.
