ANN/Groong — The English-Language Armenian Podcast

Armenian News Network/Groong is a volunteer-driven Armenian podcast and digital news extension offering objective, English-language coverage of Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), the Armenian diaspora, politics, culture, and regional affairs.

Find our social media and listening links at linktr.ee/groong .

Asbed Bedrossian

Asbed Bedrossian

Hovik Manucharyan

Hovik Manucharyan

Latest Videos

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Latest Episode

Arthur Martirosyan - After the Anger, What Next? | Ep 557, Jun 10, 2026 [EP557]

Posted on Thursday, Jun 11, 2026 | Category: Armenia, Politics | Series: cog, video
Arthur Martirosyan - After the Anger, What Next? | Ep 557, Jun 10, 2026

Guest(s):

Topics:

  • Contested results and thresholds
  • Pashinyan’s post-election crackdown
  • Western backing and interference
  • Russia’s delayed pressure campaign
  • Opposition choices after the vote

Episode 557 | Recorded: June 9, 2026

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

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Guest(s):

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

Guest(s):

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
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Guest(s):

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

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Guest(s):

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

Guest(s):

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

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Guest(s):

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

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Guest(s):

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

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Guest(s):

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

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Guest(s):

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