ANN/Groong — The English-Language Armenian Podcast

• EP585: Hovik and Asbed examine the fourth anniversary of the September 2022 border war, Azerbaijan’s occupation of Armenian territory, Pashinyan’s trajectory toward recognizing Artsakh’s loss, Hajiyev’s revisionist claims at Gandzasar, TRIPP semiconductor leverage, Pashinyan’s Paris space summit visit, Russian financial flows through Armenia, and Russia-Iran coordination in the South Caucasus.
• EP586: Hrant Mikaelian examines U.S. chip diplomacy tied to TRIPP, Armenia’s energy crisis as the nuclear plant nears shutdown, and the structural failures driving Armenia’s education collapse.
• EP587: Warwick Powell explores multipolarity, infrastructure competition, and artificial intelligence as a strategic contest between the United States and China, with implications for smaller states like Armenia navigating TRIPP and competing regional corridors.

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Guest(s):

• Hrant Mikaelian

Topics:

• AI chips tied to TRIPP diplomacy
• Data centers raise major energy questions
• Armenia faces severe education outcomes
• Government reforms versus poor student performance
• Azerbaijan targets Armenian heritage in Artsakh
• Gas dependence exposes Armenia to shocks

Episode 586 | Recorded: September 16, 2026

#Armenia #TRIPP #ArtificialIntelligence #EducationCrisis #Artsakh #EnergySecurity #SouthCaucasus #HrantMikaelian

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Topics:

• 2022 border war and its legacy
• Hajiyev spouts hate, EU reps giggle
• Armenia’s muted response to Azerbaijan
• TRIPP, NVIDIA chips, and sovereignty
• Pashinyan’s Paris space summit visit
• Russian money flows through Armenia
• Russia-Iran coordination in South Caucasus
• Political prosecutions and Grigoryan reshuffle

Episode 585 | Recorded: September 14, 2026

#Armenia #Artsakh #Gandzasar #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #Azerbaijan #Russia #Iran

• EP584: Hovik and Asbed examine September 2026 developments across Armenia and the South Caucasus, reviewing Artsakh’s remembered independence declaration, Putin’s military base signaling, Armenian Church prosecutions, EU trade negotiations, non-combat military deaths, and political pressures ahead of local elections.

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Topics:

• Artsakh remembered, its cause unresolved
• Putin puts Russia’s military base on the table
• Church prosecutions begin to unravel
• EU trade headlines look better than the deal
• Army indiscipline fuels mounting non-combat deaths
• New political pressures before local elections

Episode 584 | Recorded: Sep 6, 2026

#Artsakh #Armenia #NagornoKarabakh #SouthCaucasus #SCO #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics

• EP582: Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s precarious position at the SCO Summit amid Russian escalation in Ukraine, unprecedented Western diplomatic visits to Moscow, renewed US-Iran conflict, and Pashinyan’s meetings with regional leaders while former Artsakh presidents languish in detention and selective political prosecutions continue.
• EP583: Suren Sargsyan examines Washington’s unclear endgame in the Iran War, Russia’s military presence in Armenia amid great-power competition, and the competing U.S. and European stakes in TRIPP and Central Asian transit routes.

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Guest(s):

• Suren Sargsyan

Topics:

• U.S. objectives in the Iran war
• Russia’s 102nd base in Armenia
• Pashinyan’s sovereignty policy contradictions
• Great-power rivalry across Central Asia
• U.S. and EU interests in TRIPP
• Armenia’s place in Eurasian competition

Episode 583 | Recorded: Sep 4, 2026

#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #CentralAsia #Russia #UnitedStates #Geopolitics #SouthCaucasus

Groong Links:

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Topics:

• Russia Escalates War Against Ukraine
• Unprecedented Western Visits to Moscow
• US-Iran War Flares Again
• All Artsakh Presidents Behind Bars
• Armenia at the SCO Summit
• Pashinyan Meets Aliyev, Putin, Modi
• Political Persecutions and Selective Justice

Episode 582 | Recorded: September 1, 2026

#Armenia #Artsakh #UkraineWar #IranWar #SCO #Pashinyan #SouthCaucasus #ArmenianPolitics

• EP580: Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, examines whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War, and reflects on how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia’s geopolitical choices today.
• EP581: Arthur G. Martirosyan discusses Armenia’s post-election political crisis, 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 what Pashinyan calls the Fourth Republic.