ANN/Groong — The English-Language Armenian Podcast

• 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

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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.

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Guest(s):

• Arthur G. Martirosyan

Topics:

• Pashinyan’s Revenge Against Opposition
• Kocharyan Arrested, Family Under State Pressure
• Opposition Strategy Under Repression
• Pashinyan’s Five-Year Transformation Agenda
• Government Assault on Armenian Church
• Tigranashen and Border Concessions
• TRIPP, Turan, and Central Asia

Episode 581 | Recorded: August 28, 2026

#ArmenianElections #Armenia #NikolPashinyan #CivilContract #StrongArmenia #ArmenianOpposition

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Guest(s):

• Amb. Jack Matlock

Topics:

• Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
• Why the Soviet Union collapsed
• How the Cold War ended
• Reagan and Gorbachev’s diplomacy
• America’s post-Cold War triumphalism
• NATO expansion and Russian backlash
• Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
• Armenia’s geopolitical choices today

Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026

#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia

• EP578: Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s exposure to an expanding Iran War, Russia’s December ultimatum on EAEU membership, and how TRIPP infrastructure through Syunik deepens security and energy vulnerabilities.
• EP579: Dziunik Aghajanian examines Armenia’s precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts, analyzing the Mecca joint defense pact, Iran’s objections to TRIPP, Aliyev’s militarization of Nakhijevan, Armenia’s energy dependence, Russian ultimatums, and the Established Opposition’s parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

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Guest(s):

• Dziunik Aghajanian

Topics:

• Significance of the Mecca joint defense pact
• Iran warns Armenia over TRIPP
• Aliyev advances plans through Syunik
• Armenia faces growing energy dependence
• Russia sets deadlines for Yerevan
• Opposition tests its parliamentary strategy

Episode 579 | Recorded: August 18, 2026

#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #Mecca #TRIPP #Iran #Russia #Azerbaijan #EAEU #CSTO

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Topics:

• US-Iran War Risks Return
• Armenia Faces Regional Spillover Risks
• Russia Pressures Armenia Over Western Pivot
• TRIPP Deepens Security and Energy Risks
• Domestic Politics Grow More Confrontational
• Arrests and Prosecutions Fuel Repression Claims

Episode 578 | Recorded: August 17, 2026

#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #Syunik #SouthCaucasus #RussiaArmenia #Nakhichevan #ArmenianPolitics