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Azerbaijan Military Doctrine

From the very beginning of its existence as a post-Soviet independent republic, Azerbaijan faced a single compelling national security issue: its enduring struggle with Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding territory. The withdrawal of Russian troops and materiel left an Azerbaijani army ill-equipped and poorly disciplined. Government efforts to build a new national defense force achieved only limited results, and Armenian forces continued to advance into Azerbaijani territory during most of 1993. By the end of that year, the Aliyev regime had bolstered some components of the Azerbaijani military, however.

Azerbaijan's strategic direction is deeply affected by its physical security environment. Sandwiched between Russia and Iran, and with the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict tying down 70 percent of its ground forces along the Line of Contact, Azerbaijan recognizes the need for strong allies. The August 2008 conflict in Georgia deepened Azerbaijan's sense of insecurity, and caused the Government to re-examine Azerbaijan's strategic orientation.

In the face of increasing Russian pressure, and with nervousness about Iran's intentions in the South, the Government asked the US for significantly greater tangible support, particularly in terms of security cooperation. Azerbaijan,s strategic priorities and relations with Turkey, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and other nations in the region continues to drive its energy agenda in a manner not always aligned with its purely commercial interests.

Efforts of the Republic of Azerbaijan aimed at the settlement of the conflict with Armenia are not confined only to reaching political agreement between the two States, but as soon as such an agreement is achieved they will be directed at establishing lasting peace and mutual understanding between the two peoples. The Republic of Azerbaijan is committed to the peaceful settlement of the conflict in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group with a view to eliminating the consequences of the aggression against it and ending the occupation of a part of its territory.

Azerbaijan is willing to pursue a political track to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict with Armenia; however, any solution that does not guarantee the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is anathema. Azerbaijani views on this issue have intensified in the context of Turkish-Armenian moves toward opening borders, especially in terms of efforts to "de-link" these plans from withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijan's seven occupied territories.

The excessive accumulation of armaments and weapon systems in the region undermines regional stability and may distort the military balance between the regional countries. A military build-up exceeding reasonable national security purposes, including the foreign military bases lacking effective control mechanisms, may create concerns about intentions and result in a regional arms race. Another aspect is that such increased military build-up may drain the limited economic resources to be allocated for socio-economic development and undermine mutual confidence between the regional countries.

The National Security Concept (the "Concept") is a set of goals, principles and approaches to the policies and measures, which underline the independence, territorial integrity and democratic development of the country, integration into the Euro-Atlantic area as the strategic choice, and multidimensional and balanced foreign policy, as well as are directed at the protection of the individuals, society and State in the Republic of Azerbaijan against internal and external threats.

As a sovereign State, the Republic of Azerbaijan formulates and implements a National Security Policy which aims at the containment and elimination of threats in the current security environment and at the realization of the national interests of the country by making use of domestic and foreign policy means. The National Security Policy takes into account the multidimensional character of threats, which tend to blur the dividing line between external and internal security and require adequate multifunctional measures.