ANN/Groong — The English-Language Armenian Podcast

• EP582: Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s precarious position at the SCO Summit amid Russian escalation in Ukraine, unprecedented Western diplomatic visits to Moscow, renewed US-Iran conflict, and Pashinyan’s meetings with regional leaders while former Artsakh presidents languish in detention and selective political prosecutions continue.
• EP583: Suren Sargsyan examines Washington’s unclear endgame in the Iran War, Russia’s military presence in Armenia amid great-power competition, and the competing U.S. and European stakes in TRIPP and Central Asian transit routes.

Armenia navigates complex regional diplomacy as Pashinyan meets Putin on EU ties, discusses TRIPP corridor implementation, while prisoner rights concerns and domestic political tensions escalate.

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Topics:

• Russia Escalates War Against Ukraine
• Unprecedented Western Visits to Moscow
• US-Iran War Flares Again
• All Artsakh Presidents Behind Bars
• Armenia at the SCO Summit
• Pashinyan Meets Aliyev, Putin, Modi
• Political Persecutions and Selective Justice

Episode 582 | Recorded: September 1, 2026

#Armenia #Artsakh #UkraineWar #IranWar #SCO #Pashinyan #SouthCaucasus #ArmenianPolitics

• EP580: Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, examines whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War, and reflects on how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia’s geopolitical choices today.
• EP581: Arthur G. Martirosyan discusses Armenia’s post-election political crisis, the arrest of opposition leaders including Robert Kocharyan, attacks on the Armenian Church, border concessions including Tigranashen, the TRIPP corridor, and how the Established Opposition is strategizing under state repression in what Pashinyan calls the Fourth Republic.

Pashinyan presents contentious five-year government program amid church confrontation, opposition arrests, and deepening rifts with Russia over EU membership and CSTO participation.

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Guest(s):

• Arthur G. Martirosyan

Topics:

• Pashinyan’s Revenge Against Opposition
• Kocharyan Arrested, Family Under State Pressure
• Opposition Strategy Under Repression
• Pashinyan’s Five-Year Transformation Agenda
• Government Assault on Armenian Church
• Tigranashen and Border Concessions
• TRIPP, Turan, and Central Asia

Episode 581 | Recorded: August 28, 2026

#ArmenianElections #Armenia #NikolPashinyan #CivilContract #StrongArmenia #ArmenianOpposition

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Guest(s):

• Amb. Jack Matlock

Topics:

• Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
• Why the Soviet Union collapsed
• How the Cold War ended
• Reagan and Gorbachev’s diplomacy
• America’s post-Cold War triumphalism
• NATO expansion and Russian backlash
• Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
• Armenia’s geopolitical choices today

Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026

#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia

• EP578: Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s exposure to an expanding Iran War, Russia’s December ultimatum on EAEU membership, and how TRIPP infrastructure through Syunik deepens security and energy vulnerabilities.
• EP579: Dziunik Aghajanian examines Armenia’s precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts, analyzing the Mecca joint defense pact, Iran’s objections to TRIPP, Aliyev’s militarization of Nakhijevan, Armenia’s energy dependence, Russian ultimatums, and the Established Opposition’s parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

Pashinyan’s government moves forward with TRIPP infrastructure projects and plans to normalize ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, while opposition lawmakers clash with pro-government majorities over parliamentary committee assignments and the government pursues its campaign to oust Catholicos Karekin II.