Mr. Balian’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Peacemaking-Nagorno-Karabakh-Opportunities-Rethinking/dp/3032124891
Episode 538 | Recorded: April 30, 2026
#HrairBalian #Groong #Armenia #Artsakh #NagornoKarabakh #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor #ArmenianElections
Mr. Balian’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Peacemaking-Nagorno-Karabakh-Opportunities-Rethinking/dp/3032124891
Episode 538 | Recorded: April 30, 2026
#HrairBalian #Groong #Armenia #Artsakh #NagornoKarabakh #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor #ArmenianElections
Hrair Balian joins us to discuss his book Anatomy of Peacemaking: Nagorno Karabakh Conflict & Missed Opportunities, the failure of diplomacy around Artsakh, and what Armenia should learn from the long collapse of the peace process. The conversation also looks at the Iran war, US and Israeli goals in the region, the TRIPP/Zangezur Corridor and its security impact on Armenia, and the role of outside powers in shaping outcomes in the South Caucasus. The episode closes with a discussion of Armenia’s June parliamentary elections, opposition repression, election monitoring, and whether international observers will judge the vote by facts on the ground or political convenience.
Episode 537 | Recorded: April 27, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #StrongArmenia #AregaHovsepyan #ArmenianPolitics #SouthCaucasus #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor #Geopolitics
Episode 537 | Recorded: April 27, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #StrongArmenia #AregaHovsepyan #ArmenianPolitics #SouthCaucasus #TRIPP #ZangezurCorridor #Geopolitics
In this Conversations on Groong episode, we speak with Arega Hovsepyan of the Strong Armenia party about Armenia’s upcoming June 2026 parliamentary elections and the broader political climate. The discussion focuses on recent arrests targeting opposition figures, the situation of displaced Artsakh Armenians, competing narratives around “peace” with Azerbaijan, and the implications of the TRIPP or Zangezur Corridor project. We also examine opposition unity, polling trends, and legal questions surrounding Strong Armenia’s political strategy.
We examine how the Iran war fallout and the extension of the ceasefire are reshaping Armenia’s geopolitical position. We break down the push for the TRIPP or Zangezur Corridor and the claims of Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization, and assess how they tie to regional power dynamics involving Iran, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. The episode also covers Armenia’s 2026 elections and rising elite tensions. In addition, we discuss the global commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, contrasting international messaging with domestic narratives and linking it to ongoing debates around Artsakh and historical continuity.
Episode 536 | Recorded: April 27, 2026
Episode 536 | Recorded: April 27, 2026
Episode 535 | Recorded: April 24, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianElections #Election2026 #IODA #OSCE #ODIHR #Geopolitics #Democracy
Episode 535 | Recorded: April 24, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianElections #Election2026 #IODA #OSCE #ODIHR #Geopolitics #Democracy
Dr. Philippe Raffi Kalfayan joined Groong to discuss the International Observatory for Democracy in Armenia (IODA), its work ahead of Armenia’s June 7, 2026 parliamentary elections, and the risks it sees in the pre-election environment. The conversation covered IODA’s mission, its first fact-finding trip to Armenia, concerns about judicial control and administrative resources, questions about OSCE/ODIHR and EU impartiality, and the pressure facing opposition figures and parties before election day.
Episode 532 | Recorded: April 20, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #IranWar #Hormuz #ArmeniaElections #SouthCaucasus
Episode 532 | Recorded: April 20, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #IranWar #Hormuz #ArmeniaElections #SouthCaucasus
In this Week in Review episode, Ambassador Dziunik Aghajanian discusses the stalled Iran negotiations after the Islamabad talks, the renewed pressure around Hormuz and the naval blockade, Turkey’s posture toward Israel and the region; Armenia’s lower-profile participation in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum; Russia’s shifting rhetoric on TRIPP and the South Caucasus; and the June 7 parliamentary election in Armenia, including constitutional changes, border concessions, the gas pipeline rerouting issue, and the use of surveillance and arrests against opposition figures.
Episode 530 | Recorded: April 7, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 530 | Recorded: April 7, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
In this Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discussed the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran and the danger of a wider regional catastrophe; we reflected on the tenth anniversary of the April 2016 Four-Day War and what it revealed about Armenia’s military and diplomatic posture; we examined the fallout from Pashinyan’s Moscow visit and the increasingly blunt Russian response, and reviewed the fast-moving Armenian election campaign, including pressure on the opposition, EU involvement, and the emerging strategies of major the various alliances.
Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 525 | Recorded: March 20, 2026
#GroongPodcast #EldarMamedov #IranWar #Azerbaijan #SouthCaucasus
Episode 525 | Recorded: March 20, 2026
#GroongPodcast #EldarMamedov #IranWar #Azerbaijan #SouthCaucasus
Episode 524 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #VaruzhanGeghamyan #ZangezurCorridor #Syunik #ArmeniaGeopolitics
Episode 524 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #VaruzhanGeghamyan #ZangezurCorridor #Syunik #ArmeniaGeopolitics
Episode 523 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #ScottHorton #USIsrael #MiddleEastWar #Geopolitics
Episode 523 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #ScottHorton #USIsrael #MiddleEastWar #Geopolitics
Scott Horton joins us to examine the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, asking how this war began, what strategic goals are driving it, and where it could lead next. We discuss the limits of air power, the risk of a wider or ground war, the longer arc of U.S. and Israeli policy toward Iran and Syria, Turkey’s role in the region, and the domestic political consequences inside the United States as Trump presses ahead without broad public or congressional support.
Episode 522 | Recorded: March 16, 2026
Episode 522 | Recorded: March 16, 2026
Episode 519 | Recorded: February 25, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #ArmeniaElections #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus
Episode 519 | Recorded: February 25, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #ArmeniaElections #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus
Episode 517 | Recorded: February 13, 2026
#Groong #Armenia #JDVance #Tsitsernakaberd #TRIPP
Episode 517 | Recorded: February 13, 2026
#Groong #Armenia #JDVance #Tsitsernakaberd #TRIPP
Episode 516 | Recorded: February 9, 2026
Episode 516 | Recorded: February 9, 2026
Episode 514 | Recorded: February 4, 2026
#CancelingRussia #RussianForeignPolicy #UkraineWar #StateCivilization #TowersOfTheKremlin #RussianOrthodoxChurch
Episode 514 | Recorded: February 4, 2026
#CancelingRussia #RussianForeignPolicy #UkraineWar #StateCivilization #TowersOfTheKremlin #RussianOrthodoxChurch
Episode 513 | Recorded: February 3, 2026
#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #IRFSummit2026 #ChristianSolidarityInternational
Episode 513 | Recorded: February 3, 2026
#ArmenianChurch #ReligiousFreedom #ClergyArrests #IRFSummit2026 #ChristianSolidarityInternational
Episode 512 | Recorded: February 2, 2026
#IranIsraelWar #TrumpArmada #ArmenianChurch #Pashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Episode 512 | Recorded: February 2, 2026
#IranIsraelWar #TrumpArmada #ArmenianChurch #Pashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Episode 511 | Recorded: January 28, 2026
Episode 511 | Recorded: January 28, 2026
Episode 510 | Recorded: Jnauary 27, 2026
Episode 510 | Recorded: Jnauary 27, 2026
Episode 508 | Recorded: January 19, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Syria #Iran #ZangezurCorridor #TRIPP #Geopolitics
Episode 508 | Recorded: January 19, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Syria #Iran #ZangezurCorridor #TRIPP #Geopolitics
Episode 507 | Recorded: January 16, 2026
#AnnaGrigoryan #Armenia #ArmenianPolitics #TRIPP #ArmenianChurch #POWs
Episode 507 | Recorded: January 16, 2026
#AnnaGrigoryan #Armenia #ArmenianPolitics #TRIPP #ArmenianChurch #POWs
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom
Episode 504 | Recorded: January 12, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom
Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026
#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Episode 503 | Recorded: January 9, 2026
#ArmenianApostolicChurch #ArmenianChurch #Garegin #Catholicos #NikolPashinyan #ArmenianDiaspora
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Fyodor Lukyanov joins Groong to discuss how Moscow reads a fast-shifting global landscape, from the U.S. raid in Venezuela and maritime seizures at sea, to Trump’s Greenland rhetoric, the stalled endgame in Ukraine, the likelihood of a renewed Israel-Iran war, and how TRIPP and “unblocking” disputes in Armenia’s south fit into Russia’s regional priorities.
Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026
#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics
Episode 501 | Recorded: January 6, 2026
#VenezuelaCrisis #ArmenianChurch #MPGPoll #ArmeniaEconomy #Geopolitics