(Read the full article on Arka.am)

Azerbaijan’s 17 percent increase in military spending was the largest relative increase among countries in eastern Europe in 2020, according to new data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Arka reported.

The rise in spending was largely driven by the conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

According to Arka, Armenia’s military spending fell by 2.6 percent in 2020. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are among the top ten militarised nations per capita, according to SIPRI.