Series: COG

Turkish-Armenian Normalization Negotiations A Conversation with Harut Sassounian

• Harut Sassounian has been the publisher of The California Courier newspaper since 1983. He is also the President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization which has delivered to Armenia and Artsakh $947 million of humanitarian assistance since 1989. He is currently engaged in forming the Diaspora Armenian Parliament through local elections.

Topics:

• History of Turkish-Armenian Attempts at Negotiations
• Who are The Players?
• Why Now? What’s on the Agenda?
• What are the Pitfalls and Opportunities?

Thirty Years After the USSR

• Dr. Pietro Shakarian is a Lecturer in history at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. His research focuses on the history of Eastern Armenia and the Caucasus, especially Soviet Armenia during the era of Nikita Khrushchev’s Thaw. His analyses on Russia and the former Soviet region have appeared in The Nation, The Plain Dealer, the Russian International Affairs Council, Hetq, and more.

Topics:

• How did the USSR Dissolve, who were the personalities behind it?
• Did Ethnic Nationalism Have a Hand in it?
• Did Ronald Reagan Defeat the Soviet Union?
• What are the

Anar Valiyev and Benyamin Poghosyan discuss stumbling blocks in post-war negotiations

Guests:

• Dr. Anar Valiyev, Associate Professor at Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy (ADA) University in Baku.
• Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan, Chairman of Yerevan-based think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies.

Topics:

• Artsakh Status (@4:54)
• Is the conflict really “solved” (@11:04)
• Opening of Communications (@38:52)
• Corridor for Corridor (@46:32)
• “Unimpeded” Access (@50:15)
• Russia’s regional role (@53:16)
• Turkey’s regional role (@58:48)
• 3+3 or 3+2 Format

Groong Links:

• GIVE to GROONG
• linktr.ee/Groong

Guest:

• Mr. Vardan Aramyan - Fmr. Minister of Finance, Republic of Armenia

Topics:

• 2022 Budget and Economic Growth @1:24
  • Did Armenian economy recover already? @3:55
  • Does the structure of growth mirror worldwide growth @8:55
  • What happens if growth doesn’t meet target @14:25
  • Why did the IMF underestimate Armenian growth initially @17:38
• Growth Sectors in Budget @23:41
  • Are prices for Copper/Aluminum extremely inflated? @25:50
• Inflation @32:48
  • Effect on wages, income inequality, poverty & other socioeconomic markers? @41:36

Talking with Alison Tahmizian Meuse - TW/@AliTahmizian - November 17, 2021

• Alison Tahmizian Meuse is a graduate of the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is a French and Arabic speaker, and a veteran Middle East journalist, having worked over the past decade as a producer, correspondent and editor for major international publications including Agence France-Presse, NPR, and the Asia Times. She currently serves as a strategic advisor for the New Delhi-based consultancy DeepStrat and is newly based in Yerevan.

Topics:

• The drive to cover dangerous

The State of Affairs in Lebanon A Conversation with Dr. Ohannes Geukjian and Vera Yacoubian

Topics:

• A year after the Beirut Explosion, what’s the state of investigations?
• Has Anyone been held Accountable?
• Who are the Internal and External Players in Lebanon?
• What’s the State and Future of the Armenian Community in Lebanon?

Guests:

• Dr. Ohannes Geukjian
• Vera Yacoubian

Hosts:

• Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
• Katia Peltekian TW/@KatiaPeltekian

Episode 98: Recorded on Saturday, November 6, 2021 Show notes: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20211108.html

Save Armenian Monuments A Conversation with Virginia Davies and Heghnar Watenpaugh

Topics:

• One year after the War in Artsakh, the State of Armenian Monuments in Lands turned over to Azerbaijan
• What is Save Armenian Monuments?
• The Significance of Pilgrimage and Holy Sites
• Armenia and Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice: Is Intentional Cultural Destruction a form of Racial Discrimination?
• What Next Steps?

Guests:

• Virginia Davies TW/@vdaviesnyc
• Heghnar Watenpaugh TW/@HeghnarW

Host:

• Simon Maghakyan TW/@simonforco

Episode 97 | Recorded: November 2, 2021 Show notes: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20211103.html

Armenia’s Diplomacy and Corridor Politics

Topics:

• In the past month a flurry of diplomatic activity has risen around Armenia. The top diplomats from neighboring countries, regional and global powers have met with Armenia’s top leadership to discuss the shifting geopolitics reshaping the South Caucasus politically and economically for the coming decades. How is Armenia’s diplomacy navigating the “Corridor Politics” and what are the prospects for a peaceful neighborhood?

Guest:

• Varuzhan Geghamyan

Episode 93 | Recorded: October 18, 2021

Calls for a Commission to Analyze the Defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War

A Conversation with Dr. Simon Saradzhyan, Arthur G. Martirosyan, and Tevan Poghosyan

The disastrous outcome of the 2020 War in Artsakh has left Armenians in Armenia and around the world with many unanswered questions. Many long-time held beliefs about the capability of Armenia to defend Artsakh, and Armenia itself, were shattered on November 9, with the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement.

A group of more than 10 academics and researchers recently published a lengthy set of questions that are proposed as a basis for