Groong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Ukraine’s war of attrition
- Russia’s strategic bandwidth problem
- TRIPP and Iran’s red lines
- Israel’s Armenian Genocide move
- Armenia’s Western pivot after elections
Episode 565 | Recorded: July 8, 2026
#ArmenianNews #SouthCaucasus #UkraineWar #Russia #Armenia #EAEU #TRIPP #Geopolitics
Show Notes
Summary
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Sergey Markedonov about Russia’s strategic position amid the Ukraine War and its implications for Armenia. We discuss why Moscow remains bogged down in Ukraine despite its military superiority, how the war of attrition shapes Russian bandwidth for the South Caucasus, the geopolitical role of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, and Pashinyan’s Western pivot following the June 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.Wrap-up
Links and Resources
That’s our show , 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.
Guests
Sergey Markedonov
Dr. Sergey Markedonov is a historian and analyst specializing in Russia’s foreign policy, the South Caucasus, and post-Soviet conflict regions. He is a Leading Research Fellow at MGIMO University’s Institute for International Studies and Editor-in-Chief of International Analytics. He also served as Director of the Department for Problems of Ethnic Relations at the Institute for Political and Military Analysis in Moscow in 2001-2011.
Dr. Markedonov has written and commented widely for international policy forums and expert publications, including the Minsk Dialogue Council on International Relations, the Russian International Affairs Council, and Russia in Global Affairs. His analysis often examines the intersection of domestic politics, identity, and geopolitics in countries such as Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Moldova.
Hosts
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 is an IT professional, and for years oversaw the central IT enterprise infrastructure and services at USC. His decades of experience spanned across IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.
Asbed founded the Armenian News Network Groong circa 1989/1990, and co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.
