𝐀𝐍𝐍/𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 - 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Topics Covered:

• Supreme Judicial Council Appointments
• Turkish-Azerbaijan Military Exercises in Kars Region
• Incoming US Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Armenia

Guests

• 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐚𝐧

Your Hosts:

• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐇𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210124.html Episode 45 | Recorded on January 24, 2021

𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 - 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐇𝐊/𝐑𝐏𝐀’𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐚𝐧 - 𝟎𝟏/𝟏𝟗/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, all major political forces in Armenia (be that parliamentary or extra-parliamentary, except for the ruling party) condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal.

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has been in control of successive governments (sometimes through coalitions) for over two and a half decades. The party lost its prominence in the December 2018 elections but remained a vocal extra-parliamentary opposition.

Today we’re joined by:

𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐚𝐧, who is the vice

𝐀𝐍𝐍/𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 - 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Topics Covered:

• Outcomes from Nikol Pashinyan’s trip to Moscow
• What is Azerbaijan’s geo-political situation after the war?
• Domestic politics in Baku
• Azerbaijan’s losses from the second war in Artsakh

Guests

• 𝐄𝐝𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐥𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐲𝐚𝐧
• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐚𝐧

Your Hosts:

• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐇𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210117.html Recorded: January 17, 2021

Former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan - 01/18/2021

We’ll be discussing various legal and human-rights topics within the context of recent developments in Armenia.

Guest:

• 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐲𝐚𝐧 was formerly Artsakh’s Human Rights Ombudsman and prior to that rector of the Justice Academy of Armenia. In 2019, Melikyan co-founded and currently leads the “Path of Law” NGO.

Topics:

• Why are there Armenian POWs still in Azerbaijan so long after the Nov. 9 ceasefire agreement?
• On Constitutional Court judges being forced to resign
• On Parliament’s endorsement of Gagik Jahangiryan’s appointment to the

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐚𝐧 - 𝟎𝟏/𝟏𝟑/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Since Nikol Pashinyan came to power in 2018, and prior to the Artsakh war of 2020, issues around the Armenian constitution and constitutional court have been in the center of public attention. These issues have been partly fueled by one of the most prominent legal cases in recent Armenian history, the March 1 trial against Armenian president Robert Kocharyan and military leadership at the time. We’ll explore issues surrounding the March 1 case, as well as legal and specifically constitutional questions related to the Nov. 9 ceasefire

𝐀𝐍𝐍/𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟒𝟎 - 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

Topics Covered:

• The State of the Opposition and their demands
• Update on the Border Positions between Armenia & Azerbaijan
• The State of the Line of Contact around Artsakh

Guests

• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210110.html Recorded: January 10, 2021

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩’𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐚𝐧 - 𝟎𝟏/𝟎𝟖/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏

As protesters in the streets of Yerevan continue demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan in the aftermath of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ruling My Step faction seems to be firmly on the side of the prime minister.

In the last week or so here at Groong we hosted representatives of various opposition parties and today we will host a representative from the ruling My Step faction to talk about the ongoing political crisis in Armenia.

Today we’re joined by:

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐚𝐧, who is a member of the National Assembly with

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄𝐩 #𝟑𝟖) - 01/03/2021

𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧 is an associate professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia, where he teaches courses on post-Soviet space and the Middle East.

Talks with

𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐤 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐚𝐧 is the Partnerships and Development Finance Advisor to the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, and has served as the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia. She co-founded and was the Executive Director of the Institute of Public Policy think tank in Yerevan.

Since the end of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1994 and for over quarter of a century, Armenia has engaged in diplomatic activity with Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia and the West. The aim of those diplomatic initiatives was to find a solution to the conflict by engaging in direct diplomatic negotiations as well as track two diplomacy.

In September 2020, diplomatic initiatives gave way to a military one resulting in a war that reversed Armenia’s military successes and led to the signing of a cease-fire agreement which completely undermined Armenia’s position vis-a-vis Azerbaijan and Turkey.

To