Category: Politics

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.

Warwick Powell on the poison pill clauses in U.S. tech deals that lock smaller states into a single ecosystem, using Malaysia as a case with lessons for Armenia.

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.

A Wall Street Journal report says the U.S. dangled NVIDIA AI chips to get Armenia to sign the TRIPP corridor. The hosts weigh revocable chips against a 99-year deal.

Artsakh analyst Alen Ghevondyan was jailed over Facebook posts, then freed months later as a court dismissed the case. The hosts call it a repeating pattern.

As Pashinyan attends a Paris space summit, Hovik notes France helped build and launch Azerbaijan’s satellites, later used against Armenia in war.

EU Special Representative Magdalena Grono called the Gandzasar dispute a matter of “deeply diverging views and narratives.” The hosts call it false equivalence.

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.

Non-combat deaths in Armenia’s army are rising sharply since the declared peace. The hosts detail a case of conscripts run over while forced to jog at night.

Pashinyan reportedly explains rising army deaths by saying that with no enemy shooting, soldiers grow lax and fight over who sleeps on watch.

The hosts read Arman Grigoryan’s 2012 words calling concessions to Azerbaijan a betrayal, then reveal he was born in Martuni, Artsakh.

Suren Sargsyan warns that Pashinyan’s government has developed no contingency plans if the U.S.-backed TRIPP project fails, leaving the country dangerously exposed.

Suren Sargsyan analyzes why both Putin and Pashinyan publicly defer the decision on the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri, avoiding responsibility while maintaining the status quo.

Armenia imports $18-20M in petroleum from Azerbaijan but exports only $960 worth of goods. Hovik reveals the fuel is actually Russian energy white-labeled through Baku, exposing the false ‘peace’ narrative.

School administrators forced underage students to attend Pashinyan campaign rallies during elections. The government declined to prosecute, issuing only administrative reprimands, a stark contrast to treatment of opposition figures.

Putin congratulates imprisoned Robert Kocharyan on his birthday while ignoring Pashinyan’s reelection. The hosts decode the geopolitical message behind this selective honor.

Tigranashen, a small village controlling roads between North and South Armenia, is the next territorial concession demanded by Azerbaijan as the price of ‘peace.’ Its strategic value exposes the coercive nature of the settlement.

Pashinyan intensifies crackdown against opposition figures post-election. Tsarukyan, Kocharyan, and Karapetyan face arrest and asset seizures as regime consolidates power.

Pashinyan frames the Third Republic as failed and proposes a Fourth Republic based on rejecting Artsakh claims and Armenian diaspora ties. Expert analysis reveals this mirrors Atatürk’s identity transformation strategy.

Pashinyan explicitly stated Armenia comprises 29,743 sq km, excluding Tigranashen. Expert analyzes this strategic territory’s importance and why Azerbaijan uses Jermuk occupation as leverage.

Pashinyan offers TRIPP stakes to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to isolate Russia while EU seeks Central Asian access. Expert analyzes broader European strategy in Central Asia and China’s role.

Pashinyan intensifies attacks on Armenian Apostolic Church after Catholicos speaks about Artsakh rights. Expert analysis reveals this targets the church’s diaspora ties and identity independence.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Arthur G. Martirosyan about Armenia’s post-election political crisis and Pashinyan’s governance agenda. We discuss 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 the Fourth Republic.

Ambassador explains why Armenia’s nuclear power plant is not just an energy asset but a critical strategic deterrent against Turkish and Azerbaijani aggression, and why closing it would be catastrophic.

Ambassador analyzes how Armenia’s opposition can block TRIPP ratification and constitutional changes even without enough votes to remove Pashinyan, and why this leverage will define coming months.

Former Ambassador Aghajanian argues TRIPP is designed as part of a U.S.-led ground operation strategy against Iran, putting Armenia in an extremely vulnerable position.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about Armenia’s precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts. We discuss the Mecca joint defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s warnings over TRIPP, Ilham Aliyev’s militarization plans in Nakhijevan, Armenia’s growing energy dependence, Russian deadlines for Yerevan, and how the Established Opposition is testing its parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

Armenia is largely absent from international political prisoner tracking databases despite widespread detention, house arrest, and administrative supervision of opposition figures.

An apparent unwritten ethical agreement between Civil Contract and the opposition to maintain parliamentary civility masks a larger question: is Strong Armenia trading political leverage for immunity from prosecution?

In this episode of Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia’s precarious position amid escalating Iran War risks, Russia’s December ultimatum on the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepening security threats from TRIPP. We examine how a broader US-Iran conflict could devastate Armenia through refugee flows and logistics collapse, why Pashinyan’s EAEU defiance has triggered Russian pressure, and what frozen CSTO membership actually means for Armenian security.

Hovik profiles Aryeh Lightstone, the Orthodox rabbi and Abraham Accords architect now advising on TRIPP implementation in Armenia.

Hovik and Asbed detail how government officials’ wives are drawing astronomical salaries through rigged job contests while state enterprises decline.

The judge in the case against Catholicos Garegin II recuses himself citing a dubious conflict of interest, likely recognizing the case’s lack of legal merit.

Hovik condemns Pashinyan’s legal assault on Catholicos Garegin II, calling it an affront to Armenians worldwide and comparing it to past governance failures.

In this week’s Groong episode, the hosts examine Pashinyan’s confrontation with the Armenian Church, Armenia’s strategic positioning between Russia and the EU, and the geopolitical implications of TRIPP. We discuss the trial of Catholicos Garegin II, Iran’s military leadership realignment, the Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense pact, and how these shifts reshape Armenia’s role in the South Caucasus.

Hrant Mikaelian argues that appeasement of aggressors, citing the pre-WWII Chamberlain-Daladier example, historically fails to prevent war and invites further aggression.

Hrant Mikaelian ridicules the scale of EU financial aid, pointing out Armenia faces €520 million in economic losses from Russian restrictions while receiving only €52 million in EU support.

Hrant Mikaelian holds Pashinyan responsible for the 2020 war loss, alleging he dismantled the military rearmament plans developed by the previous government and failed negotiations.

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.

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.