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.

Armenia-Azerbaijan “Peace Negotiations” Tactics and Goals | October 14, 2022 [EP168]

Posted on Friday, Oct 14, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Politics | Series: cog

Guest:

Topics:

  • Goals and Tactics of Azerbaijan’s Negotiations
  • How did “Corridors” Become a Thing?
  • Russia’s Contributions to the process
  • Options and Scenarios Going Forwards

Episode 168 | Recorded: Friday, October 14, 2022

Armenia-Azerbaijan “Peace Negotiations” Tactics and Goals | October 14, 2022 [EP168]

Posted on Friday, Oct 14, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Politics

Guest:

Topics:

  • Goals and Tactics of Azerbaijan’s Negotiations
  • How did “Corridors” Become a Thing?
  • Russia’s Contributions to the process
  • Options and Scenarios Going Forwards

Episode 168 | Recorded: Friday, October 14, 2022

Meetings in Prague | Pashinyan Consolidating Power | Personal Rants | Ep 167 - Oct 9, 2022 [EP167]

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Genocide, India, Armenian Genocide, Georgia, Iran, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: WIR

Guest:

Topics:

  • Meetings in Prague
  • Pashinyan Consolidating Power
  • Personal Rants

Episode 167 | Recorded: October 10, 2022

Meetings in Prague | Pashinyan Consolidating Power | Personal Rants | Ep 167 - Oct 9, 2022 [EP167]

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Genocide, India, Armenian Genocide, Georgia, Iran, Nagorno Karabakh

Guest:

Topics:

  • Meetings in Prague
  • Pashinyan Consolidating Power
  • Personal Rants

Episode 167 | Recorded: October 10, 2022

Artsakh Independence | Diplomacy | Normalization with Turkey | Gorbachev | Ep 162 - Sep 4, 2022 [EP162]

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 6, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Economy, Geopolitics, Israel | Series: WIR

Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Sep 4, 2022

Topics:

  • September 2: Artsakh Independence Day
    • September 2 is a public holiday commemorating the day 31 years ago when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic declared independence from the USSR. Before 2020, this would be a festive holiday. This year, there were protests in both Yerevan and Stepanakert as well as visits to the gravesites of fallen heroes.
  • Developments in Geopolitics
    • There were two major meetings this week between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On August 30, the deputy PMs met in Moscow, then on August 31, Pashinyan and Aliyev met
 Read More

Artsakh Independence | Diplomacy | Normalization with Turkey | Gorbachev | Ep 162 - Sep 4, 2022 [EP162]

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 6, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Politics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Economy, Geopolitics, Israel

Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Sep 4, 2022

Topics:

  • September 2: Artsakh Independence Day
    • September 2 is a public holiday commemorating the day 31 years ago when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic declared independence from the USSR. Before 2020, this would be a festive holiday. This year, there were protests in both Yerevan and Stepanakert as well as visits to the gravesites of fallen heroes.
  • Developments in Geopolitics
    • There were two major meetings this week between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On August 30, the deputy PMs met in Moscow, then on August 31, Pashinyan and Aliyev met
 Read More

Azerbaijan Attacks | Evacuating Berdzor & Aghavno | Chalabyan Re-arrested | Ep #152 - Aug 7, 2022 [EP152]

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Human Rights, Nagorno Karabakh, Economy | Series: WIR

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 7, 2022

Topics:

  • Azerbaijan Attacks Artsakh Again
    • Armenian & Artsakh Authorities Evacuating Berdzor & Aghavno Population
  • Avetik Chalabyan Re-arrested

Guests:

  • Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan - TW/@Benyamin_Poghos

Host:

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

Episode 152 | Recorded: Monday, August 8, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220807.html

Azerbaijan Attacks | Evacuating Berdzor & Aghavno | Chalabyan Re-arrested | Ep #152 - Aug 7, 2022 [EP152]

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 9, 2022 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Human Rights, Nagorno Karabakh, Economy

ANN/Groong Week in Review - August 7, 2022

Topics:

  • Azerbaijan Attacks Artsakh Again
    • Armenian & Artsakh Authorities Evacuating Berdzor & Aghavno Population
  • Avetik Chalabyan Re-arrested

Guests:

  • Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan - TW/@Benyamin_Poghos

Host:

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

Episode 152 | Recorded: Monday, August 8, 2022 Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20220807.html

Live from Aghavno with Alison Tahmizian Meuse | Ep #151 - Aug 7, 2022 [EP151]

Posted on Sunday, Aug 7, 2022 | Category: Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, Politics, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, Genocide | Series: COG

This is a live recording of our Twitter Spaces discussion from August 7, 2022 with Alison Tahmizian Meuse who joined us from Aghavno.

The situation in Berdzor/Aghavno is quite concerning as residents were told to vacate their homes, their town and their homeland by August 25.

Guest: Alison Tahmizian Meuse

Hosts:

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

Episode 151 | Recorded on August 7, 2022