Nakhijevan

Last updated: May 29, 2026

Nakhijevan is an Azerbaijani exclave separated from Azerbaijan proper by Armenian territory and bordered by Turkey to the northwest, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the north and east. For centuries it was home to a significant Armenian population and contains some of the oldest Armenian cultural and religious monuments in the world, including the ancient Khachkar cemetery of Agulis and the medieval monastery of Tsghna. Over the course of the Soviet period and especially following the collapse of the USSR, the Armenian population of Nakhijevan was progressively displaced — from roughly 40,000 in the late Soviet era to virtually zero by the early 1990s. The medieval Armenian cemetery of Jugha (Djulfa), which contained thousands of ornate khachkars, was systematically destroyed by Azerbaijani authorities between 1998 and 2005.

The exclave’s disconnection from Azerbaijan proper is the primary driver of Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s demand for a transit corridor through Armenia’s Syunik province — the so-called Zangezur Corridor — which would provide a land link between Baku and Nakhijevan without crossing Armenian-controlled territory. A direct overland corridor would connect Turkey and Azerbaijan in a continuous route, fulfilling a key pan-Turkic connectivity objective. For Iran, such a corridor would sever its direct land border with Armenia, raising significant concerns in Tehran about encirclement and regional access.

Groong covers Nakhijevan in the context of the corridor dispute, the erasure of its Armenian heritage, and the strategic geometry of the South Caucasus. Episodes in this category address how Nakhijevan’s history and geographic isolation shape Azerbaijani and Turkish foreign policy objectives and what resolution of the transit dispute would mean for the region.

Larry C Johnson - Syria, South Caucasus, and Regional Power Dynamics | Ep 395, Dec 14, 2024 [EP395]

Posted on Saturday, Dec 14, 2024 | Category: Middle East, Armenia, Politics, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Nagorno Karabakh, Iran, Armenian Genocide, NATO, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, China, European Union, Genocide, Georgia, Lebanon | Series: cog, video

Guest:

Topics:

  • Syria and the Middle East
  • The South Caucasus
  • Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance
  • 44-Day War and the ISR Factor
  • Fueling Other Wars

Episode 395 | Recorded: December 12, 2024

Tevan Poghosyan - Barriers on Hakari | Erdogan in Azerbaijan | Lukashenko at CSTO | Wagner Defused | Pashinyan Testimony | Hayaqve | Ep 264 - June 25, 2023 [EP264]

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 27, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Politics, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Russia, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, Iran, Ukraine, Genocide, India | Series: wir

Guest:

Topics:

  • Concrete Barriers On Hakari Bridge
  • Erdogan visit to Azerbaijan
  • Lukashenko at the CSTO
  • Putin Defuses Wagnerian Opera
  • Pashinyan 44-Day War Testimony in Parliament
  • HayaQve [.am]

Episode 264 | Recorded: June 27, 2023

Dziunik Aghajanian - on Armenian Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, the Pashinyan Agenda, and Mother Armenia | Ep. 258 - June 1, 2023 [EP258]

Posted on Thursday, Jun 1, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Politics, Relations, Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, USA, Iran, Armenian Genocide, Artsakh Blockade, European Union, Genocide, NATO, Middle East | Series: cog

Dziunik Aghajanian - on Armenian Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, the Pashinyan Agenda, and Mother Armenia

Guest:

Topics:

  • Intro to Ms Aghajanian
    • Career path, Mentors, Influencers
    • Parting ways with the MFA
  • How did Armenia Resist Turkish Pressure prior to 2018
  • Impressions of 2018 events
  • On Pashinyan’s Policies to Surrender Artsakh
    • Letter Planning the Surrender
    • Messaging Aliyev to begin Instigations
    • Changing Security Doctrine
  • The Myth of Western Security Guarantees
  • Pashinyan’s Fiction re Alma Ata and Madrid Principles
  • On Armenia’s National Interests
  • On Armenian
 Read More

Arthur G Martirosyan | Army Day in Armenia | New EU Civilian Mission to Armenia | Politics of Artsakh Blockade | Ep 219 - Jan 29, 2023 [EP219]

Posted on Sunday, Jan 29, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Artsakh, Politics, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Russia, Iran, USA, Artsakh Blockade, European Union, Turkey, Ukraine, Israel, Genocide, Georgia, Middle East, NATO | Series: wir

Guest:

Topics:

  • Army Day - January 28
    • Events at Yerablur
  • New EU Monitoring Mission
    • Armenia’s Diplomacy
    • Russia’s Increasing Displeasure
    • Iran’s Tempered Displeasure
  • Artsakh Blockade

Episode 219 | Recorded: January 29, 2023

Varuzhan Geghamyan: Artsakh Under Blockade: Day 11 [EP191]

Posted on Friday, Dec 23, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh Blockade, Nagorno Karabakh, Iran, Genocide, NATO, Georgia, Human Rights, Syria, Ukraine, European Union, Middle East, India | Series: cog, video

“Turkish threats are going to disappear only when there is no Armenia” - Varuzhan Geghamyan

Guest:

Topic:

  • We continue our coverage of the crisis in Artsakh by developments in the UN Security Council as well as Turkish and Iranian concerns in the region.
  • More than 120 thousand people, including 30 thousand children, are under siege. Today is the 11th day of the crisis.
  • This interview is a continuation of the collaboration between ANN/Groong and 168 Hours aiming to bring you more English-language coverage on the developments of this very serious humanitarian
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Armenian News: Negotiations | Opp Protests | Iran-Armenia Rels | CSTO Meet | Ep #139 - May 22, 2022 [EP139]

Posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Georgia, Turkey, Syria, Ukraine, Israel, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Economy, European Union, NATO, Human Rights | Series: wir

Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 22, 2022

Topics:

  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:05 “Agenda of Peace” Negotiations Continue
  • 34:49 Iran-Armenia Relations
  • 44:00 CSTO Leaders Meeting in Moscow
  • 49:44 State of the Opposition Protests
  • 59:51 Hovik’s Rant

Guests:

  • Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan / TW/@Benyamin_Poghos

Host:

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

Episode 139 | Recorded: Monday, May 23, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220522.html #zartnirlao

Armenia News: Yerevan Protests | Armenia Responds | Lebanon Elections 2022 | Ep #137 - May 15, 2022 [EP137]

Posted on Tuesday, May 17, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, Artsakh, Iran, Turkey, Economy, Armenian Church, China, Georgia, Israel, Middle East, Syria, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: wir

Armenian News Network/Groong Week in Review - May 15, 2022

Topics:

  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:34 Continuing Opposition Protests in Yerevan
  • 18:19 5 + 6: Armenia’s “Response” to Azerbaijan
  • 41:28 Lebanon Elections 2022

Guests:

  • Dr. Ohannes Geukjian
  • Arthur G. Martirosyan

Host:

  • Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
  • Katia Peltekian / TW/@KatiaPeltekian
  • Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

Episode 137 | Recorded: Tuesday, May 16, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220515.html

Armenia’s Regional Challenges with Tatev Hayrapetyan | Ep #124 - Feb 26, 2022 [EP124]

Posted on Saturday, Feb 26, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Artsakh, China, India, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: cog

Armenia’s Regional Challenges - February 26, 2022 A Conversation with Tatev Hayrapetyan

Topics:

  • Tatev’s Background and Entrance into Politics
  • Armenia Going in the Wrong Direction?
  • Aliyev and his Regime after the 44-Day War
  • The Shushi and Moscow Agreements
  • Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Establishment

Guest:

  • Tatev Hayrapetyan is an expert in Azerbaijani studies and holds a PhD in History. She was an MP at the 7th convocation of Armenia’s National Assembly, a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Armenian Delegation at the PACE. She is mainly focused on domestic
 Read More

Turkish Armenian Normalization - Conversation with Harut Sassounian | Ep #111 - Jan 9, 2022 [EP111]

Posted on Sunday, Jan 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Genocide, Russia, Israel, Artsakh, Economy, Armenian Genocide, Human Rights, Armenian Church, Georgia, Syria, Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh Blockade, European Union, NATO | Series: cog

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