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

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 Bright Armenia’s Edmon Marukyan

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, all major political forces in Armenia (except for the ruling party) condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal. While the dissatisfaction with the agreement is widespread, the opposition is not entirely unified on what to do next.

We’ll talk with the leader of one of the 2 parliamentary opposition factions, Bright Armenia about his, and his party’s vision and subsequent actions to be taken by Armenia.

What is Bright Armenia’s vision for post November, Armenia? Listen to this

𝐀𝐍𝐍/𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝟑𝟓 - 𝐃𝐞𝐜 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎

Topics Covered:

• Life in Artsakh
• Update on Hin Tagher & Khtsaberd
• Internal Political Situation in Yerevan
• Kapan Border Tension

Guests

• 𝐀𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐊𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐚𝐧
• 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧
• 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐚𝐧

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20201220.html Recorded: Dec 20, 2020

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐑𝐅’𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧

Following the trilateral Karabakh ceasefire of Nov 9, the Armenian opposition has nearly universally condemned Nikol Pashinyan’s agreement to the deal. The largest opposition grouping, called Movement of the Salvation of the Homeland (Հայրենիքի փրկության շաժում in Armenian), composed of 17 political parties including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), Prosperous Armenia, and the Republican Party, are demanding Pashinyan’s immediate resignation and the appointment of their unified candidate, Vazgen Manukyan as interim PM.

This group has been

ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 33 - Dec 13, 2020

Topics Covered:

• Renewed Fighting & the OSCE MG visit
• Expedited Border Demarcation?
• What will happen to Sotq?
• Diplomatic Relations with Azerbaijan?

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Resident Panelists:

• Emil Sanamyan
• Pietro Shakarian

Recorded: Dec 13, 2020

The Role of The Humanities and Social Studies in Armenian Life - 12/13/2020

Conversations on Groong

Academia and academic work, especially in the fields of humanities and social sciences, has always been instrumentalized by various ideologies and/or political regimes. Moreover, various disciplines within each of those fields such as anthropology, art history, literature, etc., have a long tradition of being the middle children of academia and are rarely considered to have a role in shaping minds and trends in society. In Armenia the roles of humanities and social science have undergone

On November 9, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia signed The Statement ending the war in Artsakh, known more commonly as Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia emerged as a major winner, by ending the violence, introducing peacekeepers, and upholding its historical role as the regional referee in the Caucasus. What are Russia’s interests in the region, and in this agreement?

𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 helps us explore. He is a historian and a Ph.D. candidate in Russian History at the Ohio State University. His analyses on Russia, Armenia, and the post-Soviet space have appeared in several publications, including The

ANN/Groong Week in Review - Dec 6, 2020

Topics:

• Turkey and Azerbaijan Connecting
• Armenia’s Political Opposition Uniting
• Does Putin support Pashinyan?
• Robert Kocharyan Interview

Guests:

• Varuzhan Geghamyan
• Asbed Kotchikian

Episode 30 | Recorded: Dec 6, 2020

ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 29 - Nov 29, 2020

Topics Covered:

• Border Demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan
• The Scene in Yerevan
• COVID Update
• Armenia Fund support for the post-war Economy

Your Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian
• Hovik Manucharyan

Resident Panelists:

• Asbed Kotchikian
• Hrant Mikaelian

Recorded: Nov 29, 2020