The climate, much influenced by altitude, shows marked seasonal variation.
Summers are warm and winters cold.
Rainfall, although occurring throughout the year, is heaviest in summer. His government, which has established fairly good relations with Russia, enjoys reasonable stability. The dominant political issue has been the prolonged war over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave of Armenian Orthodox Christians within the territory of Azerbaijan. Armenia always denied direct intervention, claiming that the war was waged by natives of Nagorno-Karabakh against the Azeris. However, during 1994 a cease-fire was agreed between the two nations and so far both parties have avoided any further outbreak of serious conflict.