Ankara

Last updated: June 10, 2026

Ankara serves as the seat of Turkish state power and the command center for Turkey’s expansive regional ambitions in the South Caucasus. Turkish foreign policy under Recep Tayyip Erdogan has consistently backed Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijan’s military and territorial objectives, most visibly during the 44-Day War in 2020 and again through Turkey’s refusal to recognize Armenia’s sovereignty over Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) or acknowledge the rights of Armenians displaced from the region. Turkey’s pan-Turanic ideology—the vision of linking Turkish and Azerbaijani power across the region—drives Ankara’s insistence on what it calls the “Zangezur Corridor” through Armenian Syunik province. In contrast, the United States frames the same transit route as TRIPP (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity), a project designed to connect Asia to Europe while bypassing Russia and Iran and serving American strategic interests in critical minerals and limiting Chinese and Russian influence. This terminological and strategic divide reflects a deeper contest over who will dominate the corridor infrastructure and the region’s geopolitical alignment.

Ankara’s position has hardened as Iran war dynamics have reshaped the region. In episode 525, Eldar Mamedov examined how Turkey’s ambiguous posture toward the widening US-Israeli conflict against Iran leaves room for Azerbaijan to move closer to Israel while Turkey itself maintains plausible deniability. Turkey has also consolidated control over northern Syria through its backed forces, expanding its footprint in the Middle East in ways that complicate its relationship with both Iran and Russia. These moves have implications for Armenia: as Varuzhan Geghamyan outlined in episode 524, Turkey’s continued support for the “Zangezur Corridor” agenda reflects Ankara’s view of Armenia as an obstacle to pan-Turanic regional integration, a framing that persists regardless of whether the corridor is ever operationalized.

The tension between Ankara’s regional dominance and European and American alternative visions for the South Caucasus creates structural instability. Europe , dependent on Azerbaijani gas to replace lost Russian supplies, has found itself unable to push back against Turkish-Azerbaijani territorial and demographic claims with any force. Meanwhile, the United States under Donald Trump has pursued transactional partnerships with both Turkey and Azerbaijan, treating them as tools for containing Iran and China rather than as actors whose interests might conflict with Armenian sovereignty or TRIPP’s stated aims. Ankara’s willingness to coordinate with Baku on ethnic cleansing from Artsakh, coupled with its historical Armenian Genocide denial, means that Turkish policy has consistently worked to erase Armenian presence from territories Turkey and Azerbaijan control. This erasure is not incidental to Turkish regional strategy; it is central to it.

Groong episodes that include this tag

Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Ankara.

Armenian News: Yerevan Protests Grow | Artsakh Negotiations | New MPG Poll | Ep #141 - Jun 5, 2022 [EP141]

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 7, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Armenia, Politics, Poll, Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, European Union

Guest(s):

Benyamin Poghosyan

Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - June 5, 2022

Topics:

00:00 Introduction
02:52 Yerevan Protests Continue
24:30 State of Negotiations on Artsakh
42:27 MPG Gallup Poll Results
44:14 Rants

Guests:

Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan / TW/@Benyamin_Poghos

Host:

Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq Episode 141 | Recorded: Monday, June 6, 2022

Armenian News: Askeran Incursion | Artsakh Still Without Gas | Pax Azeriana | Ep. 130 - Mar 27, 2022 [EP130]

Posted on Monday, Mar 28, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey, Russia, European Union, Iran, Ukraine, Geopolitics, Genocide, Georgia, Israel, NATO, Syria | Series: wir

Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - March 27, 2022

Topics:

Introduction
Azerbaijan Incursions into Askeran Region
Artsakh Still Without Natural Gas
Pax Azeriana

Guest:

Varuzhan Geghamyan

Episode 130 | Recorded: Monday, March 28, 2022

Armenian News: Askeran Incursion | Artsakh Still Without Gas | Pax Azeriana | Ep. 130 - Mar 27, 2022 [EP130]

Posted on Monday, Mar 28, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey, Russia, European Union, Iran, Ukraine, Geopolitics, Genocide, Georgia, Israel, NATO, Syria

Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - March 27, 2022

Topics:

Introduction
Azerbaijan Incursions into Askeran Region
Artsakh Still Without Natural Gas
Pax Azeriana

Guest:

Varuzhan Geghamyan

Episode 130 | Recorded: Monday, March 28, 2022

Ukraine | Donetsk Luhansk, Artsakh | Aliyev in Moscow | Euronest in Yerevan | Ep #125 - Feb 27, 2022 [EP125]

Posted on Monday, Feb 28, 2022 | Category: Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Iran, China, Artsakh, Genocide, Economy, Geopolitics, Lebanon, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO | Series: wir

Guest(s):

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 27, 2022

Topics:

Developments in the Ukraine Crisis
Donetsk, Luhansk. Artsakh?
Aliyev in Moscow
Euronest in Yerevan

Guest:

Pietro Shakarian
Yeghia Tashjian Host:
Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan

Episode 125 | Recorded: Sunday, February 27, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220227.html

Ukraine | Donetsk Luhansk, Artsakh | Aliyev in Moscow | Euronest in Yerevan | Ep #125 - Feb 27, 2022 [EP125]

Posted on Monday, Feb 28, 2022 | Category: Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Iran, China, Artsakh, Genocide, Economy, Geopolitics, Lebanon, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO

Guest(s):

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 27, 2022

Topics:

Developments in the Ukraine Crisis
Donetsk, Luhansk. Artsakh?
Aliyev in Moscow
Euronest in Yerevan

Guest:

Pietro Shakarian
Yeghia Tashjian Host:
Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan

Episode 125 | Recorded: Sunday, February 27, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220227.html

Ukraine Crisis | Vahagn Khachatryan for President | New IRI Poll Results | Ep #118 - Feb 6, 2022 [EP118]

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Poll, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, China, Azerbaijan, Genocide, India, Economy, Iran, Armenian Genocide, Artsakh, Georgia, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union, NATO | Series: wir

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 6, 2022

Topics:

00:00 Introduction
01:10 The Continuing Ukraine Crisis
- Putin in Beijing, Erdogan in Kyiv, Pashinyan at Olympic Diplomacy?
23:44 Civil Contract Nominates Vahagn Khachatryan for President
41:21 New IRI Poll Results
58:57 Rants

Guests:

Dr. Pietro Shakarian

Guest(s):

Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

Hovik Manucharyan https://twitter.com/HovikYerevan
Asbed Bedrossian https://twitter.com/qubriq

Episode 118 | Recorded: Sunday, February 8, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220206.html

Ukraine Crisis | Vahagn Khachatryan for President | New IRI Poll Results | Ep #118 - Feb 6, 2022 [EP118]

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 6, 2022

Topics:

00:00 Introduction
01:10 The Continuing Ukraine Crisis
- Putin in Beijing, Erdogan in Kyiv, Pashinyan at Olympic Diplomacy?
23:44 Civil Contract Nominates Vahagn Khachatryan for President
41:21 New IRI Poll Results
58:57 Rants

Guests: