Week in Review - September 6, 2026

In this week's Groong episode, Hovik and Asbed review September 2026 developments across Armenia and the South Caucasus. We examine Artsakh's remembered independence declaration on September 2, 1991, and its unresolved cause following the 2023 ethnic cleansing; Putin's signaling on Russia's military base presence; ongoing Armenian Church prosecutions; EU trade negotiations; mounting non-combat military deaths; and political pressures ahead of local elections. We also analyze U.S. envoy Witkoff and Kushner's diplomatic shuttle through Moscow and Kyiv.

Topics:

• Artsakh remembered, its cause unresolved
• Putin puts Russia's military base on the table
• Church prosecutions begin to unravel
• EU trade headlines look better than the deal
• Army indiscipline fuels mounting non-combat deaths
• New political pressures before local elections

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 584 | Recorded: Sep 6, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/584

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/2mSjTCZ2s6c

#Artsakh #Armenia #NagornoKarabakh #SouthCaucasus #SCO #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - September 5, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Suren Sargsyan about the Iran War and great power competition for Armenia's strategic position. We discuss Washington's unclear endgame in the conflict with Iran, the future of Russia's military presence in Armenia and CSTO membership, and competing U.S. and European interests in new east-west transit routes through Armenia and Central Asia amid broader geopolitical rivalries.

Topics:

• U.S. objectives in the Iran war
• Russia's 102nd base in Armenia
• Pashinyan's sovereignty policy contradictions
• Great-power rivalry across Central Asia
• U.S. and EU interests in TRIPP
• Armenia's place in Eurasian competition

Guest: Suren Sargsyan

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 583 | Recorded: Sep 4, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/583

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/XMhQm0VCALA

#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #CentralAsia #Russia #UnitedStates #Geopolitics #SouthCaucasus

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Week in Review - August 30, 2026

In this week's Groong news roundup, Hovik and Asbed examine Armenia's position at the SCO Summit amid intensifying global conflicts. We discuss Russia's escalation in Ukraine, unprecedented Western diplomatic visits to Moscow, the renewed US-Iran War, and Pashinyan's meetings with regional and global leaders including Aliyev and Putin. We also address the ongoing persecution of former Artsakh leaders and the selective justice targeting Armenia's political landscape.

Topics:

• Russia Escalates War Against Ukraine
• Unprecedented Western Visits to Moscow
• US-Iran War Flares Again
• All Artsakh Presidents Behind Bars
• Armenia at the SCO Summit
• Pashinyan Meets Aliyev, Putin, Modi
• Political Persecutions and Selective Justice

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 582 | Recorded: August 31, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/582

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/PzoUvdhbgvQ

#Armenia #Artsakh #UkraineWar #IranWar #SCO #Pashinyan #SouthCaucasus #ArmenianPolitics

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - August 29, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Arthur G. Martirosyan about Armenia's post-election political crisis and Pashinyan's governance agenda. We discuss the arrest of opposition leaders including Robert Kocharyan, attacks on the Armenian Church, border concessions including Tigranashen, the TRIPP corridor, and how the Established Opposition is strategizing under state repression in the Fourth Republic.

Topics:

• Pashinyan's Revenge Against Opposition
• Kocharyan Arrested, Family Under State Pressure
• Opposition Strategy Under Repression
• Pashinyan's Five-Year Transformation Agenda
• Government Assault on Armenian Church
• Tigranashen and Border Concessions
• TRIPP, Turan, and Central Asia

Guest: Arthur G. Martirosyan

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 581 | Recorded: August 28, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/581

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/yi7zvxYDcOw

#ArmenianElections #Armenia #NikolPashinyan #CivilContract #StrongArmenia #ArmenianOpposition

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - August 28, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Ambassador Jack Matlock, the last US Ambassador to the Soviet Union, about whether the West missed a historic opportunity to integrate Russia into Western security architecture after the Cold War. We discuss the internal collapse of the Soviet Union, Reagan-Gorbachev diplomacy, NATO expansion and Russian backlash, and how Cold War-era decisions shape Armenia's geopolitical choices today, including Matlock's firsthand observations of Soviet Armenia during glasnost and the Nagorno Karabakh movement.

Topics:

• Recollections from Soviet South Caucasus
• Why the Soviet Union collapsed
• How the Cold War ended
• Reagan and Gorbachev's diplomacy
• America's post-Cold War triumphalism
• NATO expansion and Russian backlash
• Great-power rivalry in the Caucasus
• Armenia's geopolitical choices today

Guest: Jack F. Matlock Jr.

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 580 | Recorded: Aug 27, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/580

#JackMatlock #ColdWar #SovietUnion #Reagan #Gorbachev #NATO #Russia #SouthCaucasus #Armenia

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - August 21, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about Armenia's precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts. We discuss the Mecca joint defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, Iran's warnings over TRIPP, Ilham Aliyev's militarization plans in Nakhijevan, Armenia's growing energy dependence, Russian deadlines for Yerevan, and how the Established Opposition is testing its parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

Topics:

• Significance of the Mecca joint defense pact
• Iran warns Armenia over TRIPP
• Aliyev advances plans through Syunik
• Armenia faces growing energy dependence
• Russia sets deadlines for Yerevan
• Opposition tests its parliamentary strategy

Guest: Dziunik Aghajanian

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 579 | Recorded: August 18, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/579

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/IMBbyU0ffvk

#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #Mecca #TRIPP #Iran #Russia #Azerbaijan #EAEU #CSTO

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Week in Review - August 16, 2026

In this episode of Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia's precarious position amid escalating Iran War risks, Russia's December ultimatum on the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepening security threats from TRIPP. We examine how a broader US-Iran conflict could devastate Armenia through refugee flows and logistics collapse, why Pashinyan's EAEU defiance has triggered Russian pressure, and what frozen CSTO membership actually means for Armenian security.

Topics:

• US-Iran War Risks Return
• Armenia Faces Regional Spillover Risks
• Russia Pressures Armenia Over Western Pivot
• TRIPP Deepens Security and Energy Risks
• Domestic Politics Grow More Confrontational
• Arrests and Prosecutions Fuel Repression Claims

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 578 | Recorded: August 17, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/578

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Iu-zBumxcR4

#Armenia #IranWar #TRIPP #Syunik #SouthCaucasus #RussiaArmenia #Nakhichevan #ArmenianPolitics

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - August 16, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Richard Campbell about artificial intelligence infrastructure and Armenia's Firebird project. We discuss the global AI race, the economics and energy demands of data centers, whether current AI valuations align with physical and economic realities, and what sovereign AI capacity means for Armenia's strategic positioning.

Topics:

• Global AI race and hype
• Economics of AI data centers
• Energy limits and infrastructure demands
• Armenia's Firebird AI project
• Jobs, innovation, and local benefits
• AI sovereignty and export controls
• Military value and security risks

Guest: Richard Campbell

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 577 | Recorded: August 11, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/577

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/dFx8Oe48RaY

INTERESTING TALKS BY RICHARD CAMPBELL:

• Keynote: After the AI Hype - What's Real, and What's Next - Richard Campbell - 2026
• Above the Cloud: Building Data Centers in Space - Richard Campbell - NDC Copenhagen 2026

#ArtificialIntelligence #Armenia #FirebirdAI #AIDataCenters #SovereignAI #EnergySecurity #TechGeopolitics #NationalSecurity

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Week in Review - August 9, 2026

In this week's Groong episode, the hosts examine Pashinyan's confrontation with the Armenian Church, Armenia's strategic positioning between Russia and the EU, and the geopolitical implications of TRIPP. We discuss the trial of Catholicos Garegin II, Iran's military leadership realignment, the Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense pact, and how these shifts reshape Armenia's role in the South Caucasus.

Topics:

• Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Alliance
• Iran War Update
• Catholicos on Trial
• EAEU Meeting in Cholpon-Ata
• Corruption & Persecutions

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 576 | Recorded: August 10, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/576

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/F5o0rNBgbJU

#Armenia #ArmenianPolitics #ArmenianChurch #GareginII #TRIPP #ArmeniaRussia #SouthCaucasus #Groong

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Conversations on Groong - August 8, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about Armenia's Western pivot and the opening of the new parliament. We discuss Ruben Rubinyan's appointment as speaker, Armenia-Russia-EAEU relations, lessons from the 44-Day War, European aid for Armenia, the role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and Armenia's economic direction amid geopolitical pressure.

Topics:

• New Armenian Parliament
• Armenia-Russia-EAEU Relations
• EUropean Aid for Armenia
• Church & National Identity
• Armenian Economy

Guest: Hrant Mikaelian

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 575 | Recorded: August 4, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/575

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/RqKRA70wRLc

#Armenia #Russia #EuropeanUnion #ArmenianPolitics #ArmeniaRussia #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics

Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong