Nagorno Karabakh

Last updated: May 29, 2026

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.

Flurry of Diplomacy | Regional Results | Vaccine Update | Trust in Gov Info | Ep #92 - Oct 17, 2021 [EP92]

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 19, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Georgia, Economy, Russia, Syria, Artsakh, India, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Ukraine, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - October 17, 2021

Topics:

  • A Flurry of Diplomatic Activity
  • Results from Tavush, Shirak and Syunik
  • Vaccination in Armenia
  • Trust in the Authorities about Information from Border Areas

Guests:

  • Hrant Mikaelian TW/@hrant_m

Hosts:

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

Episode 92 | Recorded: October 18, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211017.html

Saakashvili in Georgia | Putin Erdogan in Sochi | OSCE MG in NK | Tonoyan in Jail | Ep 91 Oct 3 2021 [EP91]

Posted on Monday, Oct 4, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Georgia, Geopolitics, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Artsakh, Ukraine, Iran, Syria, China, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO, European Union | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - October 3, 2021

Topics:

  • Saakashvili Back in Georgia
  • Putin, Erdogan, in Sochi
  • OSCE Minsk Group in Artsakh?
  • Tonoyan, Galstyan in Jail
  • Hovik in Stepanakert

Guests:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan TW/@benyamin_poghos
  • Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

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

Episode 91 | Recorded: October 3, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20211003.html

One-year anniversary of Artsakh War | Can the Opposition Reorg | TARC 2.0 | Ep 90 - Sep 26, 2021 [EP90]

Posted on Sunday, Sep 26, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian Genocide, Genocide, Economy, China, Syria | Series: wir

Guest:

  • Tevan Poghosyan, is president of the International Center for Human Development in Yerevan. Mr. Poghosyan was an MP in the National Assembly between 2012 and 2017 from the Heritage party. From 1997 to 1999 he served as the Nagorno-Karabakh Public Affairs Office Director in Washington, D.C.

Topic:

  • The One-year anniversary of The War in Artsakh
  • Can the Opposition Reorganize?
  • Turkish-Armenian Possible Rapprochement

Episode 90 | Recorded: September 27, 2021

Independence Day | Pashinyan's Turkish Overtures | Goris-Kapan Highway | Ep #89 - Sep 19, 2021 [EP89]

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 21, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Russia, Georgia, Artsakh, Ukraine, Economy, Genocide, Israel, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Armenian Genocide, European Union | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - September 19, 2021

Topics:

  • Independence Day
  • Pashinyan’s Turkish overtures
  • Goris-Kapan highway

Guests:

  • Dr. Pietro Shakarian

Host:

  • Hovik Manucharyan

Episode #89 | Recorded: September 20, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210919.html

Syunik Blocked and Unblocked | 5-Year Plan Approved | Parliamentary Dynamics | Ep #87 - Aug 29, 2021 [EP87]

Posted on Sunday, Aug 29, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh, Economy, Georgia, Israel, Middle East, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union, NATO | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 29, 2021

Topics:

  • Road to Syunik Blocked and Unblocked
  • 5-Year Plan Approved
  • Parliamentary Dynamics

Guests:

  • Benyamin Poghosyan / TW @Benyamin_Poghos

Hosts:

  • Asbed Bedrossian / TW @qubriq

Episode 87 | Recorded: August 29, 2021 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210829.html

5-year plan | Russia Arming Armenia | Press Freedoms Cut | PaneliTopics | Ep #86 - August 22, 2021 [EP86]

Posted on Monday, Aug 23, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Georgia, Iran, Economy, Syria, Israel, Turkey, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union | Series: WIR

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

Lebanon | Afghanistan | Armenian Parliament | Artsakh | Ep #85 - Aug 15, 2021 [EP85]

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Russia, China, Syria, Artsakh, Middle East, Economy, Genocide, Human Rights, India, Israel, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 15, 2021

Topics:

  • Lebanon in Crisis
  • Taliban Takes Over Afghanistan
  • 8th Convocation of the Parliament
  • Developments around Artsakh

Guests:

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 deputy

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Instability on Am-Az Borders | Commission on War | 1st Sess of New Parliament | Ep #84 - Aug 1, 2021 [EP84]

Posted on Monday, Aug 2, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Economy, Iran, Artsakh, Human Rights, India, Syria, Nagorno Karabakh, European Union | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 1, 2021

Topics:

  • Continued Instability along Armenia-Azerbaijan Borders
  • National Assembly Commission on the 44-Day War
  • First Session of the 8th Session of the Armenian Parliament

Guests:

  • Asbed Kotchikian
  • Benyamin Poghosyan

Hosts:

  • Hovik Manucharyan
  • Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 84 | Recorded: August 2, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210801.html

Calls for a Commission to Analyze the Defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War | Ep. #82 - July 31, 2021 [EP82]

Posted on Saturday, Jul 31, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Israel, Artsakh, Turkey, Economy, Geopolitics, Nagorno Karabakh, NATO | Series: COG

Calls for a Commission to Analyze the Defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War

A Conversation with Dr. Simon Saradzhyan, Arthur G. Martirosyan, and Tevan Poghosyan

The disastrous outcome of the 2020 War in Artsakh has left Armenians in Armenia and around the world with many unanswered questions. Many long-time held beliefs about the capability of Armenia to defend Artsakh, and Armenia itself, were shattered on November 9, with the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement.

A group of more than 10 academics and researchers recently published a lengthy set of questions that are proposed as a basis for

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