By the early XIX most of the Caucasus had been controlled by Iran.
"
Much stronger" Iran or Ottoman Empire at that time would require the active ASBs involvement: both had been regularly beaten by the smaller Russian numbers.
In 1812 - 13 Iranians advanced "using European-style infantry and a few British officers" (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Persian_War_(1804–13)#Origins) and their greatest success was surrender of a single Russian battalion after which 2,000 Russians with 6 cannons defeated 30,000 Persians (including 10,000 regular infantry) with 12 cannons at the Battle of Aslanduz causing loss of 2,000 and all artillery (the British numbers) and then took by storm fort Lenkaran killing all 4,000 of its garrison.
The Ottomans routinely had French artillery and fortifications specialists and did not fare much better. François de Tott succeed in having a new foundry built to make artillery and building a new naval base but could not do much more and returned home. In 1795
Napoleon Bonaparte was to be sent to
Constantinople in 1795 to help organize Ottoman artillery but instead of going there he proved himself useful to the Directory by putting down a Parisian mob in the
whiff of grapeshot and was kept in France.
You can speculate about byproducts of this possible POD or about him getting commission in the Russian army for which he applied earlier but was rejected (person in charge did not like the Corsicans and Nappy refused to get a lower rank, which was a general practice). The meaningful Ottoman reform started only in 1826 but they had been beaten in the war of 1828 - 29, in 1853 - 56 saved by the international intervention and in 1877 - 78 beaten again.