Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Last updated: May 29, 2026
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey has been a decisive actor in the South Caucasus conflicts at the center of Groong’s coverage. Turkish military support for Azerbaijan — including the supply of Bayraktar drones and facilitation of Syrian fighters — was a significant factor in Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war. Erdogan publicly celebrated the outcome, framing it as a pan-Turkic triumph and deepening the strategic partnership between Ankara and Baku that has shaped regional dynamics ever since.
Groong’s coverage of Erdogan addresses several interlocking themes. On Armenia-Turkey relations, the normalization process that began in 2021 with the appointment of special envoys has remained stalled over Erdogan’s conditions linking progress to concessions in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process — a linkage Armenia has resisted. On Pan-Turkism, Erdogan’s rhetoric and the Zangezur Corridor project reflect a vision of unbroken Turkish-Azerbaijani territorial continuity that analysts on Groong have described as strategically threatening to Armenian sovereignty over southern Armenia.
On broader geopolitics, Erdogan occupies a complicated position: a NATO member who has maintained working relations with Putin through the Ukraine war, a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine grain deal, a purchaser of Russian S-400 air defense systems, and a leader whose democratic backsliding and Kurdish policy have put him in frequent tension with Western partners. Groong episodes examine how these contradictions shape Turkey’s room for maneuver in the South Caucasus and what they mean for Armenia’s security calculus.
Episodes covering Erdogan address the Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia triangle, Turkey’s NATO role, and the implications of Ankara’s pan-Turkic ambitions for the long-term viability of an Armenian state on its historical territory.
William Bairamian, Arthur Khachikyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 31 [EP199]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 11, 2023 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Russia, Diaspora, Artsakh Blockade | Series: cog, video
Guests:
- William Bairamian, founder and editor of The Armenite. He has written extensively on Armenian politics, culture, and society. He received degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and UCLA.
- Arthur Khachikyan, International Relations expert from Stanford University, specializing in Intervention. He currently teaches at the Russian Armenian University in Yerevan.
âThis is a repeat of Srebrenica. To gradually strangle and force the people to leave.â -Arthur Khachikyan
Topic:
More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due
Read MoreWilliam Bairamian, Arthur Khachikyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 31 [EP199]
Posted on Wednesday, Jan 11, 2023 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Russia, Diaspora, Artsakh BlockadeGuests:
- William Bairamian, founder and editor of The Armenite. He has written extensively on Armenian politics, culture, and society. He received degrees in international affairs from Columbia University and UCLA.
- Arthur Khachikyan, International Relations expert from Stanford University, specializing in Intervention. He currently teaches at the Russian Armenian University in Yerevan.
âThis is a repeat of Srebrenica. To gradually strangle and force the people to leave.â -Arthur Khachikyan
Topic:
More than 120,000 people remain trapped in the Republic of Artsakh (or Nagorno-Karabakh) due
Read MoreHovhannes Ishkanyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 25 [EP198]
Posted on Thursday, Jan 5, 2023 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh Blockade | Series: cog, video
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 Azerbaijanâs blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor, as this crisis enters its 25th day.
Read MoreHovhannes Ishkanyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 25 [EP198]
Posted on Thursday, Jan 5, 2023 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh BlockadeGuest:
- 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 Azerbaijanâs blockade of the Lachin (Berdzor) corridor, as this crisis enters its 25th day.
Read MoreKaren Vrtanesyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 19 [EP196]
Posted on Friday, Dec 30, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh Blockade | Series: cog, video
Guest:
- Karen Vrtanesyan, expert on military and warfare strategies with a focus on Armenia and its neighboring region. Co-founder of the website razm.info.
“This is not a humanitarian crisis. This is a political crisis, a crisis of statehood. -Karen Vrtanesyan”
Topic:
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 very serious humanitarian crisis in progress.
Links:
- 168 Hours: https://168.am
- Groong: https://podcasts.groong.org
Episode 196 | Recorded: December 30, 2022
Karen Vrtanesyan: Artsakh Under Blockade - Day 19 [EP196]
Posted on Friday, Dec 30, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh BlockadeGuest:
- Karen Vrtanesyan, expert on military and warfare strategies with a focus on Armenia and its neighboring region. Co-founder of the website razm.info.
“This is not a humanitarian crisis. This is a political crisis, a crisis of statehood. -Karen Vrtanesyan”
Topic:
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 very serious humanitarian crisis in progress.
Links:
- 168 Hours: https://168.am
- Groong: https://podcasts.groong.org
Episode 196 | Recorded: December 30, 2022
Benyamin Poghosyan: Artsakh Under Blockade: Day 16 [EP195]
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh Blockade | Series: cog, video
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 MoreBenyamin Poghosyan: Artsakh Under Blockade: Day 16 [EP195]
Posted on Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Artsakh BlockadeGuest:
- 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 MoreYeghia Tashjian | Artsakh Blockade | Relations with Russia | Role of the Armenian Government | Draft 'Peace' Proposals | Weekend Protests in Artsakh [EP194]
Posted on Monday, Dec 26, 2022 | Category: Politics, Armenia, Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey | Series: wir
Guest:
Topic:
- The Artsakh Blockade
- The Role of the Armenian Government
- Relations with Russia
- Latest Draft of “Peace” Proposal
- Weekend Protests in Artsakh
Episode 194 | Recorded: December 26, 2022