Guests of Groong Podcast
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Setrag Balian
Setrag Balian is a Jerusalemite Armenian activist and co-founder of the Save The ArQ movement.
Sopo Japaridze
Sopo Japaridze is the chair of Solidarity Network, an independent care workers union in Georgia. She has been a labor organizer for over a decade. She researches and studies labor and social relations and writes for various publications. She is cofounder of the Reimagining Soviet Georgia podcast.
Suren Sargsyan
Suren Sargsyan is the founder and President at the Armenian Center for American Studies, a research center based in Yerevan.
Tatev Hayrapetyan
Hayrapetyan is an expert in Azerbaijani studies and holds a PhD in History. She was an MP at the 7th convocation of Armenia’s National Assembly. Being involved in the activities of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs she was also a member of the Armenian Delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She is mainly focused on domestic developments in Azerbaijan, particularly examining the impact of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on internal politics. She is co-author of one monograph, the author of two monographs, and more than 40 scientific and analytical articles.
Tatul Manaseryan
Dr. Tatul Manaseryan, is an economist and academic, as well as a national and state actor in Armenia. Dr. Manaseryan is an MP from the 3rd convocation of the national assembly (2003-2007). He appears regularly in the media and speaks on economic matters.
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