China and Russia

The two countries share a land border which was demarcated in 1991, and they signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation in 2001, which was renewed in June 2021 for five more years. On the eve of a 2013 state visit to Moscow by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked that the two nations were forging a special relationship. The two countries have enjoyed close relations militarily, economically, and politically, while supporting each other on various global issues. Commentators have debated whether the bilateral strategic partnership constitutes an alliance. Russia and China officially declared their relations "Not allies, but better than allies". Ties have continued to deepen after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Russia increasingly becoming dependent on China since it was hit with large-scale international sanctions.

An intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states – 29 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. Following the acceptance of its application for membership in June 2022, Sweden is anticipated to become the 32nd member, with its Accession Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty now in the process of being ratified by the existing members. In addition, NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members. Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, one of the twenty additional countries participating in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme. Another nineteen countries are involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes with NATO.

                           Shusha Declaration

The Shusha Declaration, officially the Shusha Declaration on allied relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey, is a declaration on allied relations signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey on 15 June 2021. The declaration touched various issues in the political, economic, trade, culture, education, sport, and energy security sectors, the Southern Gas Corridor, cooperation in the field of defense industry, military cooperation and mutual military assistance, the so-called "Zangezur corridor", possibilities of cooperation within the framework of the proposed six-party platform (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Georgia), and opening a Turkish consulate in Shusha.