In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Harut Sassounian about Armenia’s identity crisis amid escalating conflict between the Armenian government and the Armenian Apostolic Church. We discuss Catholicos Garegin II’s statements at the May 2025 World Council of Churches conference in Bern, Pashinyan’s public attacks on senior clergy, the constitutional role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and the deeper geopolitical questions surrounding Armenia-Diaspora relations following the June 2026 Armenian parliamentary elections.

In this week’s Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed mark the sixth anniversary of the 44-Day War and examine Armenia’s deepening crisis over historical memory and national identity. We discuss the Armenian government’s controversial response to September 27 commemorations, escalating tension between the state and the Armenian Church, international concern over election integrity, and Armenia’s isolated position as Azerbaijan demolishes Artsakh’s Armenian cultural heritage while Turkey advances regional integration plans.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about shifting geopolitical pressures on Armenia following Russia’s September 2026 parliamentary elections. We discuss Putin’s strengthened domestic position, the Armenia-Russia confrontation over the 102nd base, asset confiscation and anti-corruption efforts targeting Russian interests, and how Middle East escalation and the Iran War reshape Armenia’s strategic environment amid ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process tensions.

In this week’s Groong podcast episode, Hovik and Asbed reflect on Armenia’s 35th independence anniversary amid ongoing regional tensions and unresolved conflicts. We discuss the state of Armenian statehood three years after the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, Armenian prisoners of war still held in Baku, rising citizenship costs, government opacity over war casualties, and deepening Turkey-Azerbaijan strategic coordination.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Arthur Khachatryan, MP from Armenia Alliance, about opposition strategy following the June 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election. We discuss the Established Opposition’s plans to counter Pashinyan’s agenda, territorial concessions including Tigranashen, Azerbaijani attacks on Armenian heritage, the role of TRIPP and Azerbaijan’s control over transit corridors, the future of Russia’s 102nd military base, and escalating threats against opposition parties.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Professor Warwick Powell about multipolarity, infrastructure, and the strategic implications of emerging power blocs. We discuss tangible outcomes from the SCO and BRICS summits, the shift toward local-currency settlement and financial alternatives to Western institutions, China’s role as an enabling power, and how countries like Armenia navigate the infrastructure competition between TRIPP and competing regional corridors. We also examine AI safety and digital sovereignty in a multipolar world, where both Washington and Beijing view artificial intelligence as a decisive strategic contest.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about chip diplomacy, the TRIPP framework, and Armenia’s structural economic vulnerabilities. We discuss how the U.S. fast-tracked advanced AI exports to secure the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process agreement, the massive energy demands of the planned Firebird data center, Armenia’s deepening education crisis, and the risks of energy dependence as the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant approaches shutdown.

In this Groong Week in Review episode, Hovik and Asbed examine the fourth anniversary of the September 2022 border war, Azerbaijan’s ongoing occupation of Armenian territory, and Pashinyan’s political trajectory toward recognizing Artsakh’s loss. We discuss Hajiyev’s inflammatory rhetoric, Armenia’s muted diplomatic response, TRIPP and semiconductor sovereignty, Pashinyan’s attendance at a Paris space summit, Russian financial flows through Armenia, and Russia-Iran coordination in the South Caucasus.

In this week’s Groong episode, Hovik and Asbed review September 2026 developments across Armenia and the South Caucasus. We examine Artsakh’s remembered independence declaration on September 2, 1991, and its unresolved cause following the 2023 ethnic cleansing; Putin’s signaling on Russia’s military base presence; ongoing Armenian Church prosecutions; EU trade negotiations; mounting non-combat military deaths; and political pressures ahead of local elections. We also analyze U.S. envoy Witkoff and Kushner’s diplomatic shuttle through Moscow and Kyiv.