Category: Armenia

Hrant Mikaelian explains that Russia’s demand for an Armenian referendum on EU/EAEU membership is designed to create a pretext for legally expelling Armenia from the Eurasian Economic Union.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about Armenia’s Western pivot and the opening of the new parliament. We discuss Ruben Rubinyan’s appointment as speaker, Armenia-Russia-EAEU relations, lessons from the 44-Day War, European aid for Armenia, the role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and Armenia’s economic direction amid geopolitical pressure.

Asbed Bedrossian warns that Pashinyan plans to finance the railway buyout through new European loans, burdening future generations of Armenians with debt repayment.

Hovik Manucharyan argues that Pashinyan has already agreed to hand over Tigranashen and is executing a piecemeal territorial surrender strategy, bypassing Soviet-era border protocols.

Asbed explains how Pashinyan has committed Syunik’s transit corridor simultaneously to Russia via the 2020 ceasefire and to the US-backed TRIPP framework, creating an irresolvable conflict.

Hovik reveals that Pashinyan’s sudden claims of Russian railway mismanagement appeared only after unnamed Western countries pressured him to remove Russian control, signaling geopolitical rather than operational motives.

New parliament speaker Ruben Rubinyan evades direct questions about whether Tigranashen, a strategically critical Armenian territory, falls within the government’s stated 29,743 square kilometers.

Hovik explains why Pashinyan’s proposed Gyumri-Kars railway through Nakhijevan is a fiction: Turkey already has a multi-billion-dollar direct line, and Aliyev has made clear no northern Armenian route exists.

In this week’s Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia’s new parliament sworn in on August 2, 2026, and the Armenia Alliance’s direct challenge to Civil Contract over Tigranashen. We examine the government’s evasive responses on territorial red lines, Armenia’s challenge to Russia’s railway concession, and how TRIPP reshapes regional power dynamics in the South Caucasus.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Pietro Shakarian about memory, repression, and state power in Armenia across Soviet and contemporary periods. We discuss the Great Purge in Soviet Armenia, the assassination of Aghasi Khanjyan, the suppression of Armenian national institutions under Stalin and Beria, and the parallels between Stalinist erasure and current efforts to control public memory, symbols, and mourning in post-Artsakh Armenia under the Civil Contract regime.

Arakelian argues that Pashinyan’s Western pivot lacks congressional support because it ignores the Armenian-American diaspora, capping Armenia’s influence in Washington and making the strategy vulnerable to changes in administration.

Christine Arakelian argues that the $400 million allocated to TRIPP is grossly insufficient compared to similar corridor projects, casting doubt on US commitment to Armenia’s western pivot.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Christine Arakelian about American foreign policy fractures, Iran war risks, and Armenia’s pivot to the West. We discuss whether the United States has coherent foreign policy, the collapse of the MAGA coalition over Forever Wars, NATO 3.0 and Europe’s militarization, and how Pashinyan’s post-2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election government is navigating TRIPP amid global instability.

Hovik and Asbed dissect a new regulation allowing foreigners to electronically purchase Armenian apartments with no visit required, while most Armenians cannot afford housing and government property developers are Civil Contract cronies.

Asbed and Hovik describe the dire health of Armenian POWs detained in Baku and detail evidence that Pashinyan deliberately keeps them imprisoned to eliminate political rivals.

Hovik explains the strategic pressure Russia is placing on Armenia through trade restrictions, including a dairy embargo, as Pashinyan is forced to call Putin to negotiate while Armenia seeks alternative energy sources from Iran.

Hovik describes how a farmer was arrested for hooliganism after refusing to be intimidated by a pro-government blogger, exposing the regime’s weaponization of vague charges to silence dissent.

In this week’s edition of the Armenian News podcast, Hovik and Asbed analyze escalating regional tensions as Ukraine expands operations into the Caspian Sea, striking Iranian and Russian assets. We examine how this merger of the Northern and Southern conflicts affects Armenia, Kazakhstan’s energy security, and Pashinyan’s diplomatic positioning amid new pressure from Western capitals following Aliyev’s recent visits to Germany and Berlin.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Archil Sikharulidze about Russia’s shifting strategy in the South Caucasus and Armenia and Georgia’s diverging paths. We discuss Moscow’s assessment of Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process developments, Georgia’s widening dispute with Europe, Armenia’s shift away from Russia, and how regional transit corridors reshape geopolitical competition between Moscow, Brussels, and Washington.

Barsamian weighs Armenia’s foreign policy pivot to the West against the persistent threat from unrepentant neighbors: can true security come without Turkey’s acknowledgment and commitment?

Instead of fighting over politics, diasporans should focus on practical contributions: tech, environment, education, economy. Barsamian on what diaspora activists can actually accomplish.

Barsamian argues that true reparations for the Armenian Genocide means ensuring Armenia’s security and military strength, not just symbolic recognition.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Anthony Barsamian about Armenian Diaspora advocacy, Armenia-Diaspora relations, and the next phase of Armenian-American activism. We discuss decades of work securing U.S.-Armenia relations and aid packages, the achievement of U.S. Armenian Genocide recognition and what comes next, and the role of the Armenian Republic in promoting international genocide recognition—including recent developments with Israeli recognition efforts.

After 344 days in pretrial detention on terrorism charges for leading a peaceful protest walk in 2024, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was released to house arrest. The release came weeks after UN criticism of Armenia’s human rights violations.

Hovik and Asbed debate the Armenian opposition’s summer inaction strategy, asking whether waiting for a political trigger is wise or whether missed labor protest momentum squanders real opportunities.

Konstantin Sokolov, a Trump megadonor, was appointed to lead TRIPP+, a U.S. fund managing $200 million in South Caucasus investments, the same week he acquired Armenia’s second-largest copper mine. The hosts examine the conflict of interest.

Asbed argues Pashinyan has no interest in securing the release of Armenian POWs and political prisoners from Baku because these leaders are too popular domestically and pose a threat to Civil Contract’s political dominance.

In this week’s Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed break down escalating tensions across the Middle East as the US-Iran war intensifies following the collapse of the June ceasefire. We examine the strategic implications for Armenia and the South Caucasus, the role of TRIPP advocates like Konstantin Sokolov, and how regional instability intersects with Pashinyan’s political vulnerabilities at home, including charges against Archbishop Galstanyan and ongoing Armenian POW cases.

Asbed and Hovik expose the absence of transparent maps in Armenia’s border delimitation process, questioning what territorial figure the government is actually negotiating.

Asbed breaks down Pashinyan’s dangerous ‘scissors’ metaphor on border delimitation, which treats Azerbaijani military occupation as a negotiating position rather than an illegal invasion.

In this Groong Week in Review episode, Hovik and Asbed cover the 36th NATO summit in Ankara, escalating Iran war developments, and Armenia’s removal of murals honoring fallen soldiers. We discuss NATO’s defense spending surge, Trump’s shift on Turkey and F-35 access, Ukraine aid commitments, and what these geopolitical shifts mean for Armenia and the South Caucasus amid ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations.

Suslov argues the EU cannot replace Russia as Armenia’s economic partner due to protectionism, geography, and the failure of similar EU integration models in Georgia and Ukraine.

Suslov compares Pashinyan’s regime to Georgia’s Saakashvili, arguing Armenia is being systematically repurposed as a Western pawn against Russia.

Suslov explains Russia’s conflicted view of TRIPP: a strategic threat violating the 2020 agreement, but potentially negotiable as a way to preserve Russian influence.

Suslov explains Russia’s demand that Armenia hold a referendum to legitimize its choice between Eurasian integration and Western alignment, rejecting Pashinyan’s pivot as undemocratic.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Dmitry Suslov about Russia’s strategic position across multiple fronts: the Ukraine War, Armenia’s post-election Western pivot, TRIPP and Syunik, and Europe’s rearmament against Russia. We discuss the long-term confrontation between Russia and NATO, Pashinyan’s Western alignment after the June 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election, and how transport corridors in the South Caucasus may reshape regional containment lines.

Markedonov critiques the scale and sincerity of EU support for Pashinyan’s Western pivot, arguing that symbolic backing cannot replace Armenia’s deep economic ties to Russia.

Markedonov reveals Russia’s actual red lines in the South Caucasus, explaining why TRIPP matters beyond transportation logistics and what military escalation would mean for the region.

Markedonov analyzes why Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party emerged as the primary opposition force despite his lack of political background, signaling Armenian society’s demand for alternatives.

Markedonov documents Pashinyan’s systematic criminalization of opposition through the concept of ‘Sanation,’ revealing an authoritarian consolidation pattern in post-election Armenia.

Within hours of the Constitutional Court ruling, 2,000 NSS agents raided over 70 sites linked to opposition figure Gagik Tsarukyan, using military-grade weaponry in what hosts describe as political theater targeting alleged white-collar crimes.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court invalidated votes from three precincts to exclude Prosperous Armenia from parliament, falling just 200 votes short of the 4% threshold despite over 1.5 million total votes cast.