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.
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 | 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
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, ChinaANN/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 | 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
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, RussiaGuest:
- 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
ANN/Groong Week in Review - September 19, 2021
Topics:
- Independence Day
- Pashinyanâs 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
ANN/Groong Week in Review - September 19, 2021
Topics:
- Independence Day
- Pashinyanâs 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
ANN/Groong Week in Review - September 5, 2021
Topics:
- Pashinyan & Co. Shun Artsakh Independence
- Turkey-Armenia Reconciliation Reconstituted?
- Afghanistan: Taliban 2.0?
- State of World Affairs
- State of Political Analysis
Guests:
- Asbed Kotchikian TW/@AsbedK
Hosts:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Episode #88 | Recorded: September 3, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210905.html
ANN/Groong Week in Review - September 5, 2021
Topics:
- Pashinyan & Co. Shun Artsakh Independence
- Turkey-Armenia Reconciliation Reconstituted?
- Afghanistan: Taliban 2.0?
- State of World Affairs
- State of Political Analysis
Guests:
- Asbed Kotchikian TW/@AsbedK
Hosts:
- Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq
Episode #88 | Recorded: September 3, 2021 https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210905.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 | 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