Armenia and Azerbaijan Exceed Permitted Levels of Infantry Fighting Vehicles, U.S. State Department

The U.S. State Department has presented a report on "Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments up to 2020." According to the report, Armenia and Azerbaijan possess more infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) than allowed under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty.

The report indicates that despite both parties continuing to express full support for the treaty, the number of IFVs continued to exceed the limits set forth in the agreement as of 2019.

It also points out that the failure of both countries to meet other commitments raises concerns. Additionally, Azerbaijan did not provide advance notice of at least one military exercise conducted in 2019, despite being required to do so under the Vienna Document.

For 2020, Armenia's military defense is slated to receive approximately 301.2 billion dram, compared to about 210 billion dram in 2017, with expenses rising to approximately 247 billion dram in 2018 and 301 billion dram in 2019. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan increased its military budget by around 21% in 2020, bringing it to $3.4 billion.