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Between 1991 and 1994, there was a nasty war between the two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenia won. Over a million people became refugees 400,000 Armenians in that number. The situation was humiliating for Azerbaijan, who saw it as yet another example of more powerful and wealthier (via oil fields) Moslems being defeated by a smaller number of armed and more capable non-Moslems, the portal on military news StrategyPage reports.

The article says that some 20,000 people died. The portal notes that over 400,000 Armenians fled their homes. There has been a truce between Armenia and Azerbaijan since 1994. But it has been a hot truce.

“The situation was humiliating for Azerbaijan, who saw it as yet another example of more powerful and wealthier (via oil fields) Moslems being defeated by a smaller number of armed and more capable non-Moslems,” the article says.

Although Azerbaijan has three times more people and much more money because of oil, the Armenians are better soldiers and the dispute has been stalemated.

“Azerbaijan has a population of nine million and a GPD of $72 billion, compared to 3.2 million Armenians who have a GDP of $10 billion. Azerbaijan is determined to reverse this string of defeats, no matter the cost. But the Azeris are not stupid and have to deal with the fact that the Armenians are still better fighters and have Russia as an ally,” the article says.

The article also notes that two years ago Armenia signed a pact with Russia that, in effect, puts it under the protection of Russia. The deal extends the lease on a Russian military base in Armenia from 2020 to 2044.

“In the last few years Azerbaijan has purchased over $5 billion worth of new weapons from Israel and Russia. Officially, all of this is for potential use against Armenia. But the billions spent on naval and air defense weapons seem more suited for defense against Iran,” the article reads.