Tag: CSTO

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a Russian-led military alliance formed in 1992 among several post-Soviet states, including Armenia. For decades it served as the formal backbone of Armenia’s security architecture, providing the legal basis for basing Russian troops in the country and for collective defense commitments. Armenia’s membership was long treated as the price of Russia’s security umbrella in a volatile region.

The relationship fractured after the 44-Day War of 2020, when Russia brokered the ceasefire but CSTO troops were never deployed to defend Armenia. The September 2023 Azerbaijani offensive against Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) — which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the entire Armenian population — exposed the alliance’s unwillingness to act on Armenia’s behalf. In 2024, Armenia formally suspended its participation in CSTO activities, effectively freezing its membership without a formal withdrawal.

Groong has covered the deterioration of Armenia’s relationship with the CSTO extensively: from the initial 2020 disillusionment through repeated CSTO summits where Armenia was isolated, the failed mediation attempts, and the domestic and foreign-policy implications of Armenia’s pivot away from the Russian security orbit toward Western security partnerships with France, the EU, and India.

ANN/Groong Week in Review - January 9, 2022

Topics:

  • Color Me Kazakhstan
  • Turkish-Armenian Normalization Meeting on January 14

Guests:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan TW/@Benyamin_Poghos
  • Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan

Episode 112 | Recorded: Sunday, January 9, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220109.html

ANN/Groong Week in Review - January 9, 2022

Topics:

  • Color Me Kazakhstan
  • Turkish-Armenian Normalization Meeting on January 14

Guests:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan TW/@Benyamin_Poghos
  • Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan

Episode 112 | Recorded: Sunday, January 9, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220109.html

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?
 Read More

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?
 Read More

ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 28, 2021

Topics:

  • Pashinyan Live on Facebook
  • Trilateral in Sochi, Bilateral in Brussels
  • Turkish-Armenian “Normalization”
  • Russian-Turkish “Co-opetition” in Eurasia

Guests:

  • Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m
  • Yeghia Tashjian TW/@yeghig

Hosts:

  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 104 | Recorded: Sunday, November 28, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211128.html

ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 28, 2021

Topics:

  • Pashinyan Live on Facebook
  • Trilateral in Sochi, Bilateral in Brussels
  • Turkish-Armenian “Normalization”
  • Russian-Turkish “Co-opetition” in Eurasia

Guests:

  • Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m
  • Yeghia Tashjian TW/@yeghig

Hosts:

  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 104 | Recorded: Sunday, November 28, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211128.html

ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 7, 2021

Topics:

  • Armenia under wide scale attacks by Azerbaijan @0:55
  • Border Politics @7:20
  • Azerbaijan Returns to the OSCE MG @29:49
  • Municipal elections Over the Past Weekend @44:38

Guests:

  • Arthur Martirosyan TW/@ArtMart96 Hosts:
  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 101 | Recorded: Monday, November 16, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211114.html

ANN/Groong Week in Review - November 7, 2021

Topics:

  • Armenia under wide scale attacks by Azerbaijan @0:55
  • Border Politics @7:20
  • Azerbaijan Returns to the OSCE MG @29:49
  • Municipal elections Over the Past Weekend @44:38

Guests:

  • Arthur Martirosyan TW/@ArtMart96 Hosts:
  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 101 | Recorded: Monday, November 16, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211114.html

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 22, 2021

Topics:

  • The Government’s 5-Year Plan
  • Is Russia Rearming Armenia? Artsakh?
  • Press Freedoms Curtailed in Parliament
  • Topics from the Panelists

Guests:

  • Asbed Kotchikian
  • Hrant Mikaelian

Hosts:

  • Asbed Bedrossian @qubriq

Episode 86 | Recorded: August 22, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210822.html