The Bug Pit
NATO's military chief and his Russian counterpart met in Baku, the first such high-level meeting since the two sides froze relations in 2014.
At the last minute and with no explanation, Armenia has dropped out of NATO military exercises in Georgia, after taking part in several other drills with the Western alliance this summer.
Israeli Arms Manufacturer Alleged To Have Attacked Armenia From Azerbaijan
Officials from an Israeli arms manufacturer fired two drone missiles from Azerbaijan into Armenian-held territory, according to a complaint under investigation by the Israali Ministry of Defense.
When NATO military exercises kick off in Georgia next week, they will include troops from the United States, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, and Armenia. But they won't include Azerbaijan, an unexpected, last-minute dropout.
Turkey has reached agreements with both a Russian company and a European consortium to buy air defense systems, without explaining how it plans to carry out both acquisitions -- seemingly mutually exclusive -- at the same time.
Azerbaijan: Russia Stopped Us From "Breaking Armenia's Resistance" in 2016
Russia intervened to stop Azerbaijan's advances in last year's conflict with Armenia, Azerbaijan's defense minister has said.
This October, Uzbekistan and Russia will hold their first joint military exercises since 2005, a dramatic move away from the anti-Russian policy of recently departed president Islam Karimov.
Kyrgyzstan is against the expansion of the existing Russian airbase in the country, but is encouraging the Kremlin to build a separate military training base in the south of the country.
That's according to Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambayev, who said he discussed the matter with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last week in Moscow.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Under Right Conditions, Open to Deployment to Syria
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have denied that they are in talks to send troops as part of a peacekeeping mission, contradicting statements from a day earlier by Russian and Turkish officials. But another Russian official confirmed that the talks were going on, and there seemed to be enough wiggle room in Astana and Bishkek to suggest that such a deployment is not out of the question.