Military cooperation among Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is growing, but it does not yet amount to a unified four-country alliance. The ties are taking shape through different channels: a formal alliance between Azerbaijan and Türkiye, a separate allied-relations treaty between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, and broader exercises that bring Central Asian states together. These arrangements create more opportunities for joint training and coordination, while leaving each country room to pursue its own security policy.

That distinction matters. Shared Turkic identity and diplomatic ties help bring the governments together, but practical military cooperation depends on more than political language. Exercises can build familiarity between units and test how forces communicate. They do not, by themselves, establish a joint command, common defense obligations or a standing regional force.

A strong Azerbaijan–Türkiye partnership

The closest military relationship among the four countries is between Azerbaijan and Türkiye. The 2021 Shusha Declaration formalized their allied relationship and called for closer defense cooperation, including joint training, exercises, personnel exchanges and greater interoperability between their armed forces. It also provides for cooperation with the armed forces of other friendly states.

The declaration gives the partnership a more durable basis than shared rhetoric alone. It sets out areas for regular cooperation and signals that military ties are part of a broader strategic relationship. Türkiye’s role in training and defense cooperation is therefore especially significant for Azerbaijan.

Uzbekistan’s ties with Azerbaijan have also gained a formal political foundation. In August 2024, the two governments signed a Treaty on Allied Relations. The agreement establishes an allied framework, though it should not be treated as proof of a four-country defense pactor as evidence that the treaty created a joint military command.

Kazakhstan’s place in this picture is different. Its........

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