Which country contains the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave?

Azerbaijan contains the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave.

Nakhchivan is a landlocked, autonomous part of Azerbaijan separated from the country’s main territory by Armenia. It borders Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the southwest and Turkey along a short northwestern frontier. Its capital is Nakhchivan city, and the region is governed through its own elected legislative assembly.

The territory’s modern political status emerged during the early Soviet period. In 1924, it became the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Soviet Union dissolved, it remained an autonomous republic of the newly independent Republic of Azerbaijan. Its position gives Azerbaijan a small land connection to Turkey through Nakhchivan.

The main trap is mistaking the surrounding countries for the sovereign state. Armenia physically separates Nakhchivan from mainland Azerbaijan, while Iran and Turkey also border it; none of those countries contains the autonomous republic. An exclave is territory belonging to a country but separated from that country’s main area by foreign territory.