Nagorno Karabakh

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict — also known as the Artsakh conflict, and in official Azerbaijani and international usage as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict — has been the central subject of Groong’s coverage since the podcast launched. With more than 450 episodes addressing the dispute in whole or in part, this archive represents one of the most comprehensive English-language audio records of the conflict’s recent history.

At its core, the conflict was not simply a territorial dispute between two states. The Armenian population of Artsakh — the Republic of Artsakh — was asserting its right to self-determination, a principle recognized in international law and enshrined in the UN Charter. That claim stood in direct tension with Azerbaijan’s insistence on its territorial integrity and the inviolability of Soviet-era administrative borders. The failure to resolve that tension through diplomacy over three decades ultimately ended in war.

Groong covered the 44-Day War of September–November 2020, in which Azerbaijan retook large portions of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) with Turkish military support, and the November 9, 2020 ceasefire brokered by Russia. That ceasefire created an unstable status quo: the Republic of Artsakh continued to exist on a reduced territory under the protection of Russian peacekeepers, but Azerbaijan progressively tightened its grip. The nine-month blockade of the Lachin Corridor from December 2022 onward cut the region off from food, medicine, and fuel, creating a humanitarian crisis documented in real time on Groong.

Azerbaijan’s military offensive of September 19–20, 2023 ended Armenian governance of Nagorno-Karabakh entirely. Within three weeks, virtually the entire Armenian population of Artsakh at the time — some 120,000 people, the descendants of communities that had lived in the region for millenia — was driven from the Republic of Artsakh to Armenia. Human rights organizations and many governments characterized this as ethnic cleansing. The Azerbaijani government dissolved the Republic of Artsakh on January 1, 2024.

Groong’s ongoing coverage addresses the situation of Armenian prisoners of war still held in Baku, including former Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, the right of return for the displaced population, ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations, and the prospects for accountability for what occurred.

2021 "Shushi Declaration" - 2021-ի «Շուշիի Հռչակագիրը» | Ep #122 - Feb 21, 2022 [EP122]

Posted on Monday, Feb 21, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Armenia, In Armenian, Politics, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Nagorno Karabakh, Geopolitics, Iran, Russia | Series: COG

2021-Õ« Â«ÕÕ¸ÖÕ·Õ«Õ« ÕÕ¼Õ¹Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ£Õ«ÖÕ¨Â» - The 2021 âShushi Declarationâ by Azerbaijan and Turkey

A Conversation in Armenian with Mihran Hakobyan (in Armenian)

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Ukraine | Heritage Destruction | NKR Law | Arresting Arayik | IRI results | Ep #121 - Feb 20, 2022 [EP121]

Posted on Sunday, Feb 20, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, China, Ukraine, Iran, Artsakh, Economy, Genocide, Armenian Church, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union, NATO | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 20, 2022

Topics:

Ukraine: Biden’s Tunnel of Crisis
Azeri Commission to Destroy Armenian Heritage
Artsakh Law on Occupied Territories
Azerbaijan Wants to Arrest Artsakh President
IRI Poll Results Revisited

Guests:

Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m

Hosts:

Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 121 | Recorded: Sunday, February 20, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220220.html

Political Topics with Edmon Marukyan | Ep #120 - Feb 18, 2022 [EP120]

Posted on Friday, Feb 18, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Turkey, Genocide, Azerbaijan, Economy, Artsakh, Armenian Genocide, Russia, Human Rights, USA, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union | Series: COG

Political Topics with Edmon Marukyan - February 18, 2022

Topics:

Constitutional Change Commission
Artsakh Law on Occupied Territories
State of Bright Armenia Party
Turkish-Armenian Normalization

Guest:

Edmon Marukyan, who is a lawyer by profession and the leader of the Bright Armenia party (Ô¼Õ¸ÖÕ½Õ¡Õ¾Õ¸Ö ÕÕ¡ÕµÕ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¡Õ¶). He was a member of the fifth, sixth and seventh convocations of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from 2012 till 2021. Heâs also a member of the newly formed commission to amend the constitution.

Hosts:

Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
Asbed

POWs | War Commission | Degrading Democracy | Lukashenko | MPG poll | Ep #119 - Feb 13, 2022 [EP119]

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 15, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Armenia, Politics, Poll, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, China, Ukraine, Georgia, Israel, USA, Economy, Human Rights, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union, Geopolitics, Lebanon, NATO, Syria | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - February 13, 2022

Topics:

00:00:00 Introduction
00:02:43 8 More POWs Released, But What At What Cost?
00:20:40 Parliamentary Commission on the 44-Day War Established
00:33:42 The Degrading Norms of Democracy in Armenia
00:46:42 Who Needs Armenia?
01:06:32 Latest MPG Poll Results in Yerevan
01:18:51 Rants

Guest:

Benyamin Poghosyan

Hosts:

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

Episode 119 | Recorded: Sunday, February 14, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220213.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

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

Legal & Human Rights Developments in Armenia - Ruben Melikyan | Ep #117 - Feb 4, 2022 [EP117]

Posted on Friday, Feb 4, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Human Rights, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Genocide, Azerbaijan, Genocide, Russia, Turkey, China, Iran | Series: cog

Legal & Human Rights Developments in Armenia A Conversation with Ruben Melikyan

Ruben Melikyan was formerly Artsakhâs Human Rights Ombudsman, and prior to that he was rector of the Justice Academy of Armenia. In 2019, Melikyan co-founded and currently leads the âPath of Lawâ NGO. Ô»ÖÕ¡Õ¾Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Õ¸ÖÕ²Õ« in Armenian.