Abandoned by its traditional Russian ally and squeezed between two hostile neighbors, Armenia is reaching out for Western support as it fears another war.

This week, the landlocked country of three million people signed a deal to purchase from France modern air defenses, moving to fill a key capability gap that allowed Azerbaijan to rout Armenian forces in 2020. The agreement was announced in Paris as some 3,000 Turkish and Azerbaijani troops began joint drills on both sides of Armenia.