Last updated: May 29, 2026
Armenian News Network/Groong is one of the leading English-language Armenian podcasts, publishing weekly episodes, a YouTube channel, and written digests covering developments in Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), and the broader South Caucasus . The Armenian podcast launched in July 2020 and has since become a trusted source for listeners seeking serious, in-depth coverage of recent Armenian news in English.
Every week, Groong brings together analysts, journalists, and policymakers to give Armenian news the depth it rarely receives in mainstream media. Whether you are looking for the latest Armenian news on domestic politics, Armenia’s relationships with Russia, the United States, the EU, Turkey, and Azerbaijan — or for background context on longstanding conflicts and historical questions — Groong covers it in a format designed for careful listeners.
Watch on YouTube. Groong publishes every episode to its YouTube channel , making it one of the most active Armenian news channels on the platform. Subscribers receive notifications as soon as new episodes are released — the fastest way to follow the latest Armenian news from Groong.
Listen as an Armenian podcast. Groong is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. New episodes publish every week without exception.
Read the digest. For listeners who prefer text, Groong publishes a weekly written digest summarizing the most important Armenian news of the week at substack.groong.org .
As an independent Armenian news website and media outlet, Groong operates without commercial or state funding — supported entirely by its community of listeners. Episodes in this category cover the full range of Armenian news topics tracked across the site.
Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Armenian News.
Episode 587 | Recorded: September 17, 2026
#BRICS #China #SCO #Multipolarity #Artificial0Intelligence #AISafety #DigitalSovereignty #TRIPP
Warwick Powell explains how DeepSeek’s open source model broke the proprietary American AI moat and why safety talk now doubles as commercial cover.
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Professor Warwick Powell about multipolarity, infrastructure, and the strategic implications of emerging power blocs. We discuss tangible outcomes from the SCO and BRICS summits, the shift toward local-currency settlement and financial alternatives to Western institutions, China’s role as an enabling power, and how countries like Armenia navigate the infrastructure competition between TRIPP and competing regional corridors. We also examine AI safety and digital sovereignty in a multipolar world, where both Washington and Beijing view artificial intelligence as a decisive strategic contest.
Episode 586 | Recorded: September 16, 2026
#Armenia #TRIPP #ArtificialIntelligence #EducationCrisis #Artsakh #EnergySecurity #SouthCaucasus #HrantMikaelian
Episode 586 | Recorded: September 16, 2026
#Armenia #TRIPP #ArtificialIntelligence #EducationCrisis #Artsakh #EnergySecurity #SouthCaucasus #HrantMikaelian
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about chip diplomacy, the TRIPP framework, and Armenia’s structural economic vulnerabilities. We discuss how the U.S. fast-tracked advanced AI exports to secure the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process agreement, the massive energy demands of the planned Firebird data center, Armenia’s deepening education crisis, and the risks of energy dependence as the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant approaches shutdown.
A Wall Street Journal report says the U.S. dangled NVIDIA AI chips to get Armenia to sign the TRIPP corridor. The hosts weigh revocable chips against a 99-year deal.
Artsakh analyst Alen Ghevondyan was jailed over Facebook posts, then freed months later as a court dismissed the case. The hosts call it a repeating pattern.
At Gandzasar, an Azerbaijani official held up a blank-paged replica of an Armenian manuscript and called it empty, as European diplomats smiled.
As Pashinyan attends a Paris space summit, Hovik notes France helped build and launch Azerbaijan’s satellites, later used against Armenia in war.
Episode 585 | Recorded: September 14, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #Gandzasar #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #Azerbaijan #Russia #Iran
Episode 585 | Recorded: September 14, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #Gandzasar #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #Azerbaijan #Russia #Iran
EU Special Representative Magdalena Grono called the Gandzasar dispute a matter of “deeply diverging views and narratives.” The hosts call it false equivalence.
In this Groong Week in Review episode, Hovik and Asbed examine the fourth anniversary of the September 2022 border war, Azerbaijan’s ongoing occupation of Armenian territory, and Pashinyan’s political trajectory toward recognizing Artsakh’s loss. We discuss Hajiyev’s inflammatory rhetoric, Armenia’s muted diplomatic response, TRIPP and semiconductor sovereignty, Pashinyan’s attendance at a Paris space summit, Russian financial flows through Armenia, and Russia-Iran coordination in the South Caucasus.
On the 35th anniversary of Artsakh’s independence, the hosts mourn a homeland emptied of its people and call it the cause of every Armenian generation.
Episode 584 | Recorded: Sep 6, 2026
#Artsakh #Armenia #NagornoKarabakh #SouthCaucasus #SCO #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics
Episode 584 | Recorded: Sep 6, 2026
#Artsakh #Armenia #NagornoKarabakh #SouthCaucasus #SCO #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics
Non-combat deaths in Armenia’s army are rising sharply since the declared peace. The hosts detail a case of conscripts run over while forced to jog at night.
Pashinyan reportedly explains rising army deaths by saying that with no enemy shooting, soldiers grow lax and fight over who sleeps on watch.
The EU says Armenia can export 6,500 tons of cucumbers tariff-free. Armenia only produces 1,100. The hosts break down the export illusion.
The hosts read Arman Grigoryan’s 2012 words calling concessions to Azerbaijan a betrayal, then reveal he was born in Martuni, Artsakh.
In this week’s Groong episode, Hovik and Asbed review September 2026 developments across Armenia and the South Caucasus. We examine Artsakh’s remembered independence declaration on September 2, 1991, and its unresolved cause following the 2023 ethnic cleansing; Putin’s signaling on Russia’s military base presence; ongoing Armenian Church prosecutions; EU trade negotiations; mounting non-combat military deaths; and political pressures ahead of local elections. We also analyze U.S. envoy Witkoff and Kushner’s diplomatic shuttle through Moscow and Kyiv.
Episode 583 | Recorded: Sep 4, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #CentralAsia #Russia #UnitedStates #Geopolitics #SouthCaucasus
Episode 583 | Recorded: Sep 4, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #CentralAsia #Russia #UnitedStates #Geopolitics #SouthCaucasus
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Suren Sargsyan about the Iran War and great power competition for Armenia’s strategic position. We discuss Washington’s unclear endgame in the conflict with Iran, the future of Russia’s military presence in Armenia and CSTO membership, and competing U.S. and European interests in new east-west transit routes through Armenia and Central Asia amid broader geopolitical rivalries.
Episode 582 | Recorded: September 1, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #UkraineWar #IranWar #SCO #Pashinyan #SouthCaucasus #ArmenianPolitics
Episode 582 | Recorded: September 1, 2026
#Armenia #Artsakh #UkraineWar #IranWar #SCO #Pashinyan #SouthCaucasus #ArmenianPolitics
In this week’s Groong news roundup, Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia’s position at the SCO Summit amid intensifying global conflicts. We discuss Russia’s escalation in Ukraine, unprecedented Western diplomatic visits to Moscow, the renewed US-Iran War, and Pashinyan’s meetings with regional and global leaders including Aliyev and Putin. We also address the ongoing persecution of former Artsakh leaders and the selective justice targeting Armenia’s political landscape.
Episode 581 | Recorded: August 28, 2026
#ArmenianElections #Armenia #NikolPashinyan #CivilContract #StrongArmenia #ArmenianOpposition
Episode 581 | Recorded: August 28, 2026
#ArmenianElections #Armenia #NikolPashinyan #CivilContract #StrongArmenia #ArmenianOpposition
Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026
#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia
Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026
#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Arthur G. Martirosyan about Armenia’s post-election political crisis and Pashinyan’s governance agenda. We discuss the arrest of opposition leaders including Robert Kocharyan, attacks on the Armenian Church, border concessions including Tigranashen, the TRIPP corridor, and how the Established Opposition is strategizing under state repression in the Fourth Republic.
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, about whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War. We discuss the internal collapse of the Soviet Union, Reagan-Gorbachev diplomacy, NATO expansion and Russian backlash, and how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia’s geopolitical choices today, including Matlock’s firsthand observations of Soviet Armenia during glasnost and the Nagorno Karabakh movement.
Episode 579 | Recorded: August 18, 2026
#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #Mecca #TRIPP #Iran #Russia #Azerbaijan #EAEU #CSTO
Episode 579 | Recorded: August 18, 2026
#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #Mecca #TRIPP #Iran #Russia #Azerbaijan #EAEU #CSTO
Ambassador Aghajanian breaks down the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement as a U.S.-orchestrated strategy to isolate Iran and position Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia for potential ground operations against Iranian interests.
Former Ambassador Aghajanian argues TRIPP is designed as part of a U.S.-led ground operation strategy against Iran, putting Armenia in an extremely vulnerable position.
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about Armenia’s precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts. We discuss the Mecca joint defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s warnings over TRIPP, Ilham Aliyev’s militarization plans in Nakhijevan, Armenia’s growing energy dependence, Russian deadlines for Yerevan, and how the Established Opposition is testing its parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.
Episode 578 | Recorded: August 17, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #Syunik #SouthCaucasus #RussiaArmenia #Nakhichevan #ArmenianPolitics
Episode 578 | Recorded: August 17, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #Syunik #SouthCaucasus #RussiaArmenia #Nakhichevan #ArmenianPolitics
In this episode of Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia’s precarious position amid escalating Iran War risks, Russia’s December ultimatum on the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepening security threats from TRIPP. We examine how a broader US-Iran conflict could devastate Armenia through refugee flows and logistics collapse, why Pashinyan’s EAEU defiance has triggered Russian pressure, and what frozen CSTO membership actually means for Armenian security.
Episode 577 | Recorded: August 11, 2026
#ArtificialIntelligence #Armenia #FirebirdAI #AIDataCenters #SovereignAI #EnergySecurity #TechGeopolitics #NationalSecurity
Episode 577 | Recorded: August 11, 2026
#ArtificialIntelligence #Armenia #FirebirdAI #AIDataCenters #SovereignAI #EnergySecurity #TechGeopolitics #NationalSecurity
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Richard Campbell about artificial intelligence infrastructure and Armenia’s Firebird project. We discuss the global AI race, the economics and energy demands of data centers, whether current AI valuations align with physical and economic realities, and what sovereign AI capacity means for Armenia’s strategic positioning.
Hovik and Asbed detail how government officials’ wives are drawing astronomical salaries through rigged job contests while state enterprises decline.
Hovik condemns Pashinyan’s legal assault on Catholicos Garegin II, calling it an affront to Armenians worldwide and comparing it to past governance failures.
Episode 576 | Recorded: August 10, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianPolitics #ArmenianChurch #GareginII #TRIPP #ArmeniaRussia #SouthCaucasus #Groong
Episode 576 | Recorded: August 10, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianPolitics #ArmenianChurch #GareginII #TRIPP #ArmeniaRussia #SouthCaucasus #Groong
In this week’s Groong episode, the hosts examine Pashinyan’s confrontation with the Armenian Church, Armenia’s strategic positioning between Russia and the EU, and the geopolitical implications of TRIPP. We discuss the trial of Catholicos Garegin II, Iran’s military leadership realignment, the Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense pact, and how these shifts reshape Armenia’s role in the South Caucasus.
Hrant Mikaelian argues that appeasement of aggressors, citing the pre-WWII Chamberlain-Daladier example, historically fails to prevent war and invites further aggression.
Episode 575 | Recorded: August 4, 2026
#Armenia #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics #ArmeniaRussia #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics
Episode 575 | Recorded: August 4, 2026
#Armenia #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics #ArmeniaRussia #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about Armenia’s Western pivot and the opening of the new parliament. We discuss Ruben Rubinyan’s appointment as speaker, Armenia-Russia-EAEU relations, lessons from the 44-Day War, European aid for Armenia, the role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and Armenia’s economic direction amid geopolitical pressure.
Asbed Bedrossian warns that Pashinyan plans to finance the railway buyout through new European loans, burdening future generations of Armenians with debt repayment.
Hovik Manucharyan argues that Pashinyan has already agreed to hand over Tigranashen and is executing a piecemeal territorial surrender strategy, bypassing Soviet-era border protocols.
Hovik reveals that Pashinyan’s sudden claims of Russian railway mismanagement appeared only after unnamed Western countries pressured him to remove Russian control, signaling geopolitical rather than operational motives.
New parliament speaker Ruben Rubinyan evades direct questions about whether Tigranashen, a strategically critical Armenian territory, falls within the government’s stated 29,743 square kilometers.
Episode 574 | Recorded: August 3, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Tigranashen #ArmenianRailways #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #ArmeniaRussia #ZangezurCorridor #Geopolitics
Episode 574 | Recorded: August 3, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Tigranashen #ArmenianRailways #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #ArmeniaRussia #ZangezurCorridor #Geopolitics