44-Day War, a Tale of Betrayal | Ep 476, Sep 28, 2025 [EP476]

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 1, 2025 | Category: Armenia, Politics | Series: wir, video

Topics:

  • Pashinyan’s rise and Western backing
  • Breakdown of talks and secret meetings
  • Failures and propaganda during the war
  • Aftermath, revisionism, and political responsibility

Episode 476 | Recorded: September 28, 2025

Show Notes

Summary:

We reflect on September 27 and the 44-Day War, tracing how Pashinyan’s 2018 rise set the stage for broken negotiations, secret leader-to-leader contacts, poor defense choices, and a propaganda-laden war that the Armenian government failed to mobilize for. We revisit ceasefire rejections, Russia’s stand-off posture, and the postwar slide into demilitarization, border retreats, and historical revisionism. We close on accountability, the need for a real war commission, and the right of Artsakh’s people to return.

Main Topics Addressed

  • Pashinyan’s rise and Western backing
  • Breakdown of talks and secret meetings
  • Failures and propaganda during the war
  • Aftermath, revisionism, and political responsibility

Key Questions Discussed

  • Why did Serzh Sargsyan resign rather than confront the 2018 movement?
  • Did Pashinyan stall or reset Minsk-Group talks and pursue backchannels with Aliyev?
  • How did defense procurement shifts and army restructuring weaken readiness?
  • Why was the state not fully mobilized, and why were ceasefires rejected?
  • What explains Russia’s limited role and the peacekeeper calculus?
  • Can there be dignified peace amid ethnic cleansing, demilitarization, and “memory-holing”?
  • What should a genuine, independent war inquiry examine first?

Referenced Articles & Sources

Thoughts from the Participants

  • On responsibility: A defeated, capitulating leader cannot negotiate on behalf of the nation.
  • On peace: Undignified peace invites future conflict, not stability.
  • On Artsakh: Seeking return and justice for Artsakh is a right, not “revanchism.”

Wrap-up

That’s our Week in Review, we hope you found it helpful. We invite your feedback and your suggestions, you can find us on most social media and podcast platforms.

Thanks to Laura Osborn for the music on our podcasts.

Hosts

Hovik Manucharyan

Hovik Manucharyan

Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.

Asbed Bedrossian

Asbed Bedrossian

Asbed Bedrossian is an IT professional with extensive experience in enterprise IT infrastructure, IT security, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.

Asbed is founder of the Armenian News Network Groong (ca. 1989/1990) and co-founder of the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.

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