Last updated: June 10, 2026
Armenia’s land borders span approximately 1,570 kilometers and connect it to four neighboring countries: Azerbaijan (910 km to the east and north), Turkey (311 km to the west), Iran (910 km to the south and southeast), and Georgia (164 km to the north). The borders define Armenia’s access to regional markets, energy supplies, and transit options. Turkey has maintained a unilateral blockade of Armenia since 1993, closing its land border and airspace. Following the ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 2020, border demarcation and delimitation with Azerbaijan have remained contested, with disputes over enclaves, territorial control, and transit corridor status creating persistent tensions.
Armenia’s borders determine its survival as a sovereign state. The loss of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in a 24-hour offensive on September 19–20, 2023, ethnically cleansed the enclave of its more than 150,000 Armenian inhabitants and reduced Armenian territorial control to the Republic proper. The primary obstacle to the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process is Azerbaijan’s precondition that Armenia amend its constitution to remove references to Artsakh and recognize Azerbaijani territorial claims. Border demarcation and delimitation, while technically complex and lengthy, is proceeding but Armenian opposition parties criticize the Pashinyan government for accepting Azerbaijan’s sequencing priorities in determining which areas are demarcated first. Beyond the constitutional demands and demarcation process, Azerbaijan demands implementation of transit arrangements that would connect mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhijevan across Armenian Syunik province. Armenia fears that such arrangements, marketed as TRIPP (Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity) by Washington, would cement Azerbaijani and Turkish control over Armenian territory and sever Armenia’s ability to maintain open transit with Iran through Syunik , a critical lifeline for trade and energy independent of hostile neighbors.
The Zangezur Corridor label itself reflects geopolitical competition over naming rights and intent. The United States frames the corridor as TRIPP, a transit project designed to connect Asia to Europe while bypassing Russia and Iran and serving American strategic interests in accessing critical minerals and limiting Chinese and Russian influence. Azerbaijan and Turkey call it the “Zangezur Corridor,” terminology rooted in pan-Turanic ambitions to integrate the region under Turkish-Azerbaijani leadership. This is not a semantic difference. Implementation would allow Turkey to link directly with Azerbaijan and Central Asia, completing a corridor that many Armenian analysts see as a threat to Armenian sovereignty rather than a neutral infrastructure project. The Iran War that erupted in early 2026 has frozen TRIPP’s implementation by making the corridor’s passage through Syunik strategically volatile, but it has not resolved the underlying question of whether Armenia will eventually be forced to accept transit arrangements that benefit Turkey and Azerbaijan more than Armenia itself.
Armenia’s border situation defines its options for trade, energy, and geopolitical alignment. With Turkey’s border closed since 1993, Armenia cannot access Europe overland and remains dependent on air and sea routes through Georgia and Iran. Armenia’s southern border with Iran remains open and functional, and the northern border with Georgia is also open. These two neighbors provide Armenia’s only reliable transit routes for goods and energy independent of hostile powers. Turkey’s continued closure of its border means that any corridor arrangement through Syunik that severs Armenia’s direct access to Iran would eliminate Armenia’s most critical independent trade pathway. In this context, border demarcation with Azerbaijan becomes more than a technical boundary matter: it determines whether Armenia can survive as a sovereign state or whether it will be economically strangled by hostile neighbors and forced into submission. Fyodor Lukyanov and Varuzhan Geghamyan have analyzed how the corridor question and border disputes shape Armenia’s choices between competing blocs, and how Armenia’s weakness in border negotiations reflects its broader loss of leverage in a region where Russia no longer guarantees its security and the West offers support without binding commitments.
Below are all Groong episodes tagged with Borders.
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 29, 2021
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Episode 87 | Recorded: August 29, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210829.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 22, 2021
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Episode 86 | Recorded: August 22, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210822.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 22, 2021
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Episode 86 | Recorded: August 22, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210822.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 15, 2021
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Asbed Kotchikian is an Associate Professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia.
Benyamin Poghosyan is the chairman of the Center For Political and Economic Strategic Studies, a Yerevan based think tank. He was
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review - August 15, 2021
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Asbed Kotchikian is an Associate Professor of political science and international relations at the American University of Armenia.
Benyamin Poghosyan is the chairman of the Center For Political and Economic Strategic Studies, a Yerevan based think tank. He was
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review - August 1, 2021
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Episode 84 | Recorded: August 2, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210801.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 1, 2021
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Episode 84 | Recorded: August 2, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210801.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 25, 2021
Episode 81 | Recorded: July 26, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 25, 2021
Episode 81 | Recorded: July 26, 2021
Armenian Foreign policy Between War and Peace A Conversation with Dr. Pietro Shakarian and Yeghia Tashjian
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Episode 80 | Recorded: July 21, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210722.html
Armenian Foreign policy Between War and Peace A Conversation with Dr. Pietro Shakarian and Yeghia Tashjian
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Episode 80 | Recorded: July 21, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210722.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 18, 2021
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Episode 79 | Recorded: July 19, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210718.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 18, 2021
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Episode 79 | Recorded: July 19, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210718.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 11, 2021
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Guests: Asbed Kotchikian
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210711.html
Episode 78 | Recorded: July 11, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - July 11, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210711.html
Episode 78 | Recorded: July 11, 2021
Aleksandr Khachaturyan on the 2021 Armenian Elections
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Aleksandr Khachaturyan who is a Managing Partner at TK & Partners, in Yerevan. In 2016 he served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan, and was CEO of the Center for Strategic Initiatives, advising the government on key economic and public administration reforms and strategies. He serves as a board member at ID Bank and various non-profits, and lectures on corporate finance law at the French University of Armenia (FUA). He holds law degrees from Boston University, FUA, and Jean Moulin
Read MoreAleksandr Khachaturyan on the 2021 Armenian Elections
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Aleksandr Khachaturyan who is a Managing Partner at TK & Partners, in Yerevan. In 2016 he served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan, and was CEO of the Center for Strategic Initiatives, advising the government on key economic and public administration reforms and strategies. He serves as a board member at ID Bank and various non-profits, and lectures on corporate finance law at the French University of Armenia (FUA). He holds law degrees from Boston University, FUA, and Jean Moulin
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review - June 13, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 70 | Recorded: June 13, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210613.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - June 13, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 70 | Recorded: June 13, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210613.html
Episode 83 | Recorded: June 14, 2021
Episode 83 | Recorded: June 14, 2021
Armenia, Superpowers and The New Cold War
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Episode 68 | Recorded: June 4, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210608.html
Armenia, Superpowers and The New Cold War
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Episode 68 | Recorded: June 4, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/CoG-20210608.html
Iran: Foreign Relations and Upcoming Elections A Conversation with Robert Markarian
The South Caucasus comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The three regional powers surrounding them are Russia to the north, Turkey to the west, and Iran in the south.
Iran has been largely quiet about events on its northern border with Armenia and Azerbaijan, due largely to its marginalization on the world stage because of the Western economic sanctions but also because Iran is home to millions of ethnic Azeris and any perceived support for Armenia could result in additional
Read MoreIran: Foreign Relations and Upcoming Elections A Conversation with Robert Markarian
The South Caucasus comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The three regional powers surrounding them are Russia to the north, Turkey to the west, and Iran in the south.
Iran has been largely quiet about events on its northern border with Armenia and Azerbaijan, due largely to its marginalization on the world stage because of the Western economic sanctions but also because Iran is home to millions of ethnic Azeris and any perceived support for Armenia could result in additional
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review - May 30, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 65 | Recorded: May 30, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210530.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 30, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 65 | Recorded: May 30, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210530.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 23, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210523.html Recorded: May 24, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 23, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210523.html Recorded: May 24, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 16, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 60 | Recorded: May 2, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210516.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 16, 2021 Topics:
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Episode 60 | Recorded: May 2, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210516.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 2, 2021
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Episode 60 | Recorded: May 2, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - May 2, 2021
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Episode 60 | Recorded: May 2, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 25, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210425.html Episode 59 | Recorded: April 25, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 25, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210425.html Episode 59 | Recorded: April 25, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 11, 2021
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Episode 57 | Recorded: April 12, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 11, 2021
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Episode 57 | Recorded: April 12, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 4, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210404.html Episode 56 | Recorded: April 4, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - April 4, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210404.html Episode 56 | Recorded: April 4, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 28, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210328.html Episode 55 | Recorded: March 28, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 28, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210328.html Episode 55 | Recorded: March 28, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 21, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210321.html Episode 54 | Recorded: March 21, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - March 21, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210321.html Episode 54 | Recorded: March 21, 2021
ANN Groong Week in Review - Episode 52 - Feb 28, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210228.html Episode 52 | Recorded: February 28, 2021
ANN Groong Week in Review - Episode 52 - Feb 28, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210228.html Episode 52 | Recorded: February 28, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 48 - February 7, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210207.html Recorded: February 7, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 48 - February 7, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210207.html Recorded: February 7, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - Jan 31, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210131.html Episode 47 | Recorded on January 31, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - Jan 31, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210131.html Episode 47 | Recorded on January 31, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - Jan 24, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210124.html Episode 45 | Recorded on January 24, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review - Jan 24, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210124.html Episode 45 | Recorded on January 24, 2021
Episode 44 | Recorded on January 17, 2021
Episode 44 | Recorded on January 17, 2021
Former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan - 01/18/2021
Weâll be discussing various legal and human-rights topics within the context of recent developments in Armenia.
Former Artsakh Ombudsman Ruben Melikyan - 01/18/2021
Weâll be discussing various legal and human-rights topics within the context of recent developments in Armenia.
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
Read MoreConversation 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
Read MoreANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 40 - Jan 10, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210110.html Recorded: January 10, 2021
ANN/Groong Week in Review Episode 40 - Jan 10, 2021
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Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210110.html Recorded: January 10, 2021
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 Pashinyanâs agreement to the deal. While the dissatisfaction with the agreement is widespread, the opposition is not entirely unified on what to do next.
Weâll talk with the leader of one of the 2 parliamentary opposition factions, Bright Armenia about his, and his partyâs vision and subsequent actions to be taken by Armenia.
What is Bright Armeniaâs vision for post
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