Azerbaijan Increases Defense Spending, Armenia Cuts Army Strength

Azerbaijan is once again preparing to pour billions into its army. According to the draft budget for 2026, Baku will spend around 8.815 billion manats, equal to $5.12 billion, on defense and national security. This makes up 21% of its entire state budget, showing that the regime continues to focus on weapons, war, and threats. The amount is a 3% rise compared to 2025, which was already more than $5 billion.

This massive increase in Azerbaijan’s military budget exposes the real intentions of Ilham Aliyev’s government. Instead of working for peace in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan chooses to expand its army, buy more weapons, and prepare for future aggression. With Turkey as its closest ally and military partner, Baku’s plans clearly target Armenia and Artsakh.

While Azerbaijan grows stronger, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan openly downplays the importance of the army. Speaking in Yerevan, he said that the armed forces must be the least important tool of national security. According to him, “You have to make sure the army is 15th, 20th, 50th, 100th.”

Such words are dangerous for a country that was attacked by centuries and lost Artsakh because of military weakness. Pashinyan argues that international “legitimacy” is more important than the army and insists that the agreements signed in Washington put an end to the conflict. But Armenia’s political opposition warns that these so-called agreements are based only on Armenian concessions, giving away land, rights, and sovereignty without securing peace.

 By weakening the army, reducing defense spending, and cutting compulsory military service from two years to 18 months, some people believe that Pashinyan’s government is leaving Armenia exposed to new attacks from Azerbaijan.

As opposition figure Tigran Abrahamyan explained, Azerbaijan constantly pressures Armenia because it acts from a position of military strength. Since the war in 2020, Baku has continued to build up its armed forces, while Yerevan under Pashinyan has done the opposite. That imbalance is why Aliyev feels free to blackmail, threaten, and extort Armenia.

Abrahamyan says: “It is only with combat-ready armed forces that you can act from a much stronger position in international relations, in negotiations with any subject of international law.” Without a strong army, Armenia cannot defend itself or Artsakh. Instead, it is forced to bow to Azerbaijan’s ultimatums.

Azerbaijan does not even hide its plans. Aliyev met with Turkey’s top military general Selcuk Bayraktaroglu in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh to praise their deepening military partnership. This open show of force is a direct message to Armenia: Turkey and Azerbaijan stand together, and they are preparing for more.

At the same time, Azerbaijani officials call Armenia’s so-called “militarization” an obstacle to peace. They demand restrictions on the Armenian army and even want changes in Armenia’s constitution before a peace treaty is signed. These are not peace talks — they are threats designed to dismantle Armenia’s defenses and leave the nation helpless.

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