Guests of Groong Podcast

Tevan Poghosyan

Tevan Poghosyan is president of the International Center for Human Development. Mr. Poghosyan was an MP in the National Assembly between 2012 and 2017 from the Heritage party. From 1997 to 1999 he served as the Nagorno-Karabakh Public Affairs Office Director in Washington, D.C.

Ulvi Ismayil

Ulvi Ismayil is a historian and researcher, based in Washington, D.C. and originally from Baku. He works with international development organizations such as UNHCR and USAID and has been involved in Azerbaijan-Armenian peace-making multilateral projects since 2004. He has written on the subject and has even developed his own peace proposal. Ulvi was a co-author of a joint petition drafted in 2014 calling the sides to observe peace along the line of contact.

Vahagn Melikian

Mr. Vahagn Melikian is a seasoned Armenian diplomat with a career spanning over three decades. Melikian has held numerous key positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His notable roles include serving as Secretary General of the Ministry from 2018 to 2021 and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Diaspora from 2015 to 2018. Melikyan’s ambassadorial appointments have been extensive, representing Armenia in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Melikian’s contributions to diplomacy have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the Commemorative Medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Gilded Coin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Grand Cross of the Order of May from Argentina, the Mkhitar Gosh Medal, and the second-class Medal of Services to the Motherland. Fluent in English, Russian, French, and Arabic, he has significantly advanced Armenia’s diplomatic relations and international presence.

Vahagn Melikian is a founding member of the Pan-Armenian Diplomatic Council. Melikian is married and has two children.

Vahram Ter-Matevosyan

__ Dr. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan__ is a Professor at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of the American University of Armenia. His expertise lies in the political history of Turkey, Kemalism, political Islam, and the foreign and security policies of the South Caucasus nations. He earned his Doctorate from the University of Bergen in Norway. He has authored two monographs and more than a dozen book chapters and research articles which have been published in edited volumes by Routledge and Springer, as well as in peer-reviewed journals such as Nations and Nationalism, Third World Quarterly, Europe-Asia Studies, Turkish Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Digest of Middle East Studies

Vardan Aramyan

Mr. Vardan Aramyan is a former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia, serving from 2016-2018. He is currently Senior VP of Finance and Economy at Vallex Group in Yerevan.

Vartan Oskanian

Mr. Vartan Oskanian was the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Armenia from 1998 to 2008.

Varuzhan Geghamyan

Prof. Varuzhan Geghamyan is assistant professor at Yerevan State University’s Department of Oriental Studies, teaching courses on Turkey’s modern history, History of Azerbaijan; Sociocultural anthropology of Azerbaijan; Political ideologies and parties in Modern Turkey & History of the Turkish Republic.

Virginia Davies

Entrepreneur and lawyer Virginia Davies is the New York-based founding president of Save Armenian Monuments.

William Bairamian

William Bairamian is the founder and editor of The Armenite. He has written extensively on Armenian politics, culture, and society. He received degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and UCLA.