Pashinyan affirms that defense expenditure will not escalate, due to the alleged peace establishment with Azerbaijan.

In recent developments, both Azerbaijan and Armenia have made strides towards a potential peace treaty, while also focusing on their military capabilities.

Azerbaijan's President, Ilham Aliyev, has assessed the signed documents as fully consistent with Azerbaijan's interests. This comes amidst some progress made on the peace treaty with Armenia and rising tensions with Russia.

Aliyev has also emphasised the need for Azerbaijan to be ready for war at any moment due to unpredictable global processes. In line with this, Azerbaijan is building up its military capacity, having increased the number of its special forces 'by thousands'.

Moreover, Azerbaijan has acquired the most modern unmanned aerial vehicles and new artillery systems, a move that Fitch Ratings sees as a positive step towards reducing defence spending pressures in the future.

On the other hand, Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has stated that the country's defence spending may not see an increase in 2026. Pashinyan added that they would continue 'operational analysis of the situation' and make decisions corresponding to short-term, medium-term, and long-term developments.

The Armenian Finance Minister, Vahe Hovhannisyan, has cited Fitch Ratings' positive assessments of peace prospects between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Hovhannisyan also noted that they plan to decrease the Defence Ministry's budget compared to that of 2025.

However, there are no publicly available specific details on Azerbaijan's planned defense budget for 2026 or how it compares to the 2025 budget in the provided search results.

In a recent visit to Kalbajar, Aliyev described the destruction of the city as mere barbarity and an inhuman act. He also stated that the Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation process has almost been completed.

Both countries have allocated big shares of their state budgets to military spending. Azerbaijan's military budget has steadily grown since Aliyev assumed power in 2003, with the 2025 military budget reaching ₼9.4 billion ($5.5 billion).

Aliyev added that Azerbaijan does not intend to wage war with anyone from now on, but if a threat arises, everyone will see their iron fist. Pashinyan, on the other hand, believes there will either be no significant increase in defence spending in the 2026 state budget, or no increase at all.

These developments highlight the ongoing efforts towards peace and the continuous focus on military preparedness in both Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Pashinyan affirms that defense expenditure will not escalate, due to the alleged peace establishment with Azerbaijan.