Tag: Donald Trump

Last updated: May 29, 2026

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in January 2025 brought a distinct set of priorities to US engagement in the South Caucasus. The Trump administration’s signature regional initiative has been the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a connectivity proposal centered on opening the Zangezur Corridor through Armenia to link Turkey and Azerbaijan — and potentially extending to regional economic integration. The proposal has been controversial in Armenia, where many view it as pressure to make territorial concessions to Azerbaijan under the banner of economic development.

More broadly, the Trump administration’s approach to the South Caucasus reflects its transactional foreign policy: prioritizing deal-making, reducing emphasis on democracy and human rights conditions, and recalibrating relationships with traditional allies and adversaries alike. For Armenia, this has meant navigating a US posture that is simultaneously a potential counterweight to Russia and a source of pressure on the peace process.

Groong has covered Trump’s impact on Armenian affairs extensively, from the TRIPP proposal and its reception in Yerevan to US-Armenia security cooperation, Congressional dynamics, and how Trump-era US foreign policy compares with the Biden approach to the South Caucasus.

Anna Abrahamian: Munich Security Conference | Artsakh [EP230]

Posted on Friday, Feb 24, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Politics, China, Russia, Azerbaijan | Series: cog, video

Today we’re going to talk with Anna Abrahamian about two or three topics.

  • The Munich Security Conference 2023.
  • We’ll touch on Russian president Putin’s state of the federation address.
  • The latest political developments in Artsakh.

Guest:

  • Anna Abrahamian, a geopolitical analyst who splits her time between Moscow and Athens. Having obtained training in international law, Anna has worked in such noteworthy institutions as the Defense Analyses Institute in Athens as well as the Crisis Group in Brussels. Today, Anna provides her analysis on geopolitics and Armenian politics to her
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Today we’re going to talk with Anna Abrahamian about two or three topics.

  • The Munich Security Conference 2023.
  • We’ll touch on Russian president Putin’s state of the federation address.
  • The latest political developments in Artsakh.

Guest:

  • Anna Abrahamian, a geopolitical analyst who splits her time between Moscow and Athens. Having obtained training in international law, Anna has worked in such noteworthy institutions as the Defense Analyses Institute in Athens as well as the Crisis Group in Brussels. Today, Anna provides her analysis on geopolitics and Armenian politics to her
 Read More

Karen Vrtanesyan: Catastrophe in Azat [EP214]

Posted on Monday, Jan 23, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Politics | Series: cog

Conversations on Groong - Jan 22, 2023

On January 19, 15 conscripts in the village of Azat, Armenia died in a fire that engulfed their temporary makeshift barracks.

Guest:

Topics:

  • Conditions in the Armenian Army
  • Information chaos following the incident
  • Beheading of the 2nd Army Corps

Episode 214 | Recorded: January 22, 2023

Karen Vrtanesyan: Catastrophe in Azat [EP214]

Posted on Monday, Jan 23, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Politics

Conversations on Groong - Jan 22, 2023

On January 19, 15 conscripts in the village of Azat, Armenia died in a fire that engulfed their temporary makeshift barracks.

Guest:

Topics:

  • Conditions in the Armenian Army
  • Information chaos following the incident
  • Beheading of the 2nd Army Corps

Episode 214 | Recorded: January 22, 2023

Guest:

  • Hovhannes Ishkhanyan, writer, documentary filmmaker, publicist, co-founder of Eye for an Eye (Akn Und Akan), a community of documentarians. Hovhannes has a Master’s in journalism from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.

Using art to prevent catastrophes instead of reacting to them

Ishkhanyan’s documentary “Sleep art”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqzPpVsK-g

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor, as this crisis enters its 25th day.

 Read More

Guest:

  • Hovhannes Ishkhanyan, writer, documentary filmmaker, publicist, co-founder of Eye for an Eye (Akn Und Akan), a community of documentarians. Hovhannes has a Master’s in journalism from the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs.

Using art to prevent catastrophes instead of reacting to them

Ishkhanyan’s documentary “Sleep art”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqzPpVsK-g

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor, as this crisis enters its 25th day.

 Read More

Guest:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan, Chairman of the Yerevan based think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies.

“Aliyev’s strategy is ’no Armenians, no problems’. What is our strategy?” -Benyamin Poghosyan

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, as this crisis enters its 16th day.

This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this

 Read More

Guest:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan, Chairman of the Yerevan based think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies.

“Aliyev’s strategy is ’no Armenians, no problems’. What is our strategy?” -Benyamin Poghosyan

Topic:

More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, as this crisis enters its 16th day.

This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this

 Read More

Guest:

Topics:

  • Lachin Corridor Blockade
  • Continuing Armenian-Azerbaijani Negotiations
  • Turkish-Azerbaijani Military Exercises
  • Travel Impressions from the region

Episode 182 | Recorded: December 13, 2022