Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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.

Supreme Judicial Council | Turk-Azerbaijani Military Exercises in Kars | Blinken on Armenia (Ep #45) [EP45]

Posted on Monday, Jan 25, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Genocide, Syria, Artsakh, Armenian Genocide, Israel

ANN/Groong Week in Review - Jan 24, 2021

Topics Covered:

Supreme Judicial Council Appointments
Turkish-Azerbaijan Military Exercises in Kars Region
Incoming US Secretary of State Tony Blinken on Armenia

Guests

Aram Hamparian
Asbed Kotchikian
Emil Sanamyan

Your Hosts:

Asbed Bedrossian
Hovik Manucharyan

Website: https://groong.org/podcasts/WiR-20210124.html Episode 45 | Recorded on January 24, 2021

Armen Ashotyan - Opposition Talks | Ep 44, Jan 19, 2021 [EP44]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 19, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh | Series: cog

Groong Links:

Guest:

Armen Ashotyan, MP, VP Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)

Topics:

What took place in 2018?
Why did RPA support Vazgen Manukyan as PM candidate?
Nov. 9/10 ceasefire agreement & Jan 11 statement
Is the RPA truly serious about removing Pashinyan? Why hasnât the opposition mobilized more people onto the streets?
Lessons learned from Dec. 2018 elections.

Episode 44 | Recorded on January 17, 2021

Armen Ashotyan - Opposition Talks | Ep 44, Jan 19, 2021 [EP44]

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 19, 2021 | Category: Armenia, Politics, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh

Groong Links:

Guest:

Armen Ashotyan, MP, VP Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)

Topics:

What took place in 2018?
Why did RPA support Vazgen Manukyan as PM candidate?
Nov. 9/10 ceasefire agreement & Jan 11 statement
Is the RPA truly serious about removing Pashinyan? Why hasnât the opposition mobilized more people onto the streets?
Lessons learned from Dec. 2018 elections.

Episode 44 | Recorded on January 17, 2021