Armenian News Network - Groong: Week In Review Podcast

Week in Review - August 2, 2026

In this week's Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia's new parliament sworn in on August 2, 2026, and the Armenia Alliance's direct challenge to Civil Contract over Tigranashen. We examine the government's evasive responses on territorial red lines, Armenia's challenge to Russia's railway concession, and how TRIPP reshapes regional power dynamics in the South Caucasus.

Topics:

• New parliament is sworn in
• Tigranashen and Armenia's territorial red lines
• Civil Contract's evasive enclave answers
• Armenia challenges Russia's railway concession
• TRIPP reshapes regional power and transit

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 574 | Recorded: August 3, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/574

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/dSzzQC3-ECA

#ArmenianNews #Tigranashen #ArmenianRailways #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #ArmeniaRussia #ZangezurCorridor #Geopolitics

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Conversations on Groong - August 3, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Pietro Shakarian about memory, repression, and state power in Armenia across Soviet and contemporary periods. We discuss the Great Purge in Soviet Armenia, the assassination of Aghasi Khanjyan, the suppression of Armenian national institutions under Stalin and Beria, and the parallels between Stalinist erasure and current efforts to control public memory, symbols, and mourning in post-Artsakh Armenia under the Civil Contract regime.

Topics:

• Erasing memory across Yerevan
• Great Purge in Soviet Armenia
• Khanjyan's assassination and Beria
• Repression of Armenia's national institutions
• Remembering Stalinist repression
• Historical parallels with modern Armenia
• Attacks on memory and Church
• Opposition strategy after the election

Guest: Pietro Shakarian

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 573 | Recorded: July 31, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/573

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Y7Zwv-ZH6uc

#Armenia #GreatPurge #AghasiKhanjyan #PietroShakarian #Artsakh #ArmenianChurch #PoliticalRepression #MemoryUnderSiege #Authoritarianism #SovietArmenia

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Conversations on Groong

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Christine Arakelian about American foreign policy fractures, Iran war risks, and Armenia's pivot to the West. We discuss whether the United States has coherent foreign policy, the collapse of the MAGA coalition over Forever Wars, NATO 3.0 and Europe's militarization, and how Pashinyan's post-2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election government is navigating TRIPP amid global instability.

Topics:

• US Foreign Policy & the Fracture of MAGA
• Iran and the Risk of Forever Wars
• NATO 3.0 and Europe's Militarization
• Post-2026 Election Armenia
• TRIPP and Pashinyan's Pivot to the West

Guest: Christine A. Arakelian

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 572 | Recorded: July 29, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/572

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/aFGknXV57a4

#Russia #IranWar #UkraineWar #SouthCaucasus #Armenia #TRIPP #Geopolitics #Eurasia

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Week in Review - July 26, 2026

In this week's edition of the Armenian News podcast, Hovik and Asbed analyze escalating regional tensions as Ukraine expands operations into the Caspian Sea, striking Iranian and Russian assets. We examine how this merger of the Northern and Southern conflicts affects Armenia, Kazakhstan's energy security, and Pashinyan's diplomatic positioning amid new pressure from Western capitals following Aliyev's recent visits to Germany and Berlin.

Topics:

• Ukraine expands its war into the Caspian
• Iran warns of a wider regional response
• Russia and the West test stalled diplomacy
• Aliyev positions Baku as a geopolitical hub
• Armenia faces pressure over EU alignment
• Baku POW abuse and their deteriorating health
• Housing policy expose domestic failures

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 571 | Recorded: July 27, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/571

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/boe2261X_bM

#Armenia #UkraineWar #Iran #CaspianSea #SouthCaucasus #MiddleCorridor #ArmenianPOWs #Geopolitics

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Conversations on Groong - July 27, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Archil Sikharulidze about Russia's shifting strategy in the South Caucasus and Armenia and Georgia's diverging paths. We discuss Moscow's assessment of Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process developments, Georgia's widening dispute with Europe, Armenia's shift away from Russia, and how regional transit corridors reshape geopolitical competition between Moscow, Brussels, and Washington.

Topics:

• Russia's changing South Caucasus strategy
• Georgia's widening dispute with Europe
• Armenia's shift away from Russia
• Georgia's role in regional transit
• Armenia-Georgia ties under pressure

Guest: Archil Sikharulidze

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 570 | Recorded: July 24, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/570

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/_Cr0HFioCfA

#Armenia #Georgia #Russia #EuropeanUnion #SouthCaucasus #GeorgianDream #NikolPashinyan #MiddleCorridor

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Conversations on Groong - July 25, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Anthony Barsamian about Armenian Diaspora advocacy, Armenia-Diaspora relations, and the next phase of Armenian-American activism. We discuss decades of work securing U.S.-Armenia relations and aid packages, the achievement of U.S. Armenian Genocide recognition and what comes next, and the role of the Armenian Republic in promoting international genocide recognition-including recent developments with Israeli recognition efforts.

Topics:

• Armenian-American advocacy and its next phase
• Genocide recognition, justice, and reparations
• Church-state conflict and national unity

Guest: Anthony J. Barsamian

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 569 | Recorded: July 21, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/569

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/DZe1ltgELys

#ArmenianDiaspora #AnthonyBarsamian #ArmenianGenocide #ArmenianChurch #ArmeniaDiaspora #SouthCaucasus

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Week in Review - July 19, 2026

In this week's Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed break down escalating tensions across the Middle East as the US-Iran war intensifies following the collapse of the June ceasefire. We examine the strategic implications for Armenia and the South Caucasus, the role of TRIPP advocates like Konstantin Sokolov, and how regional instability intersects with Pashinyan's political vulnerabilities at home, including charges against Archbishop Galstanyan and ongoing Armenian POW cases.

Topics:

• US-Iran War Continues
• Summer Lull in Yerevan Politics
• Konstantin Sokolov: Master of TRIPP & Teghut
• UN: Abp. Galstanyan Charges Unjustified
• Armenian POW Slams Pashinyan from Baku

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 568 | Recorded: July 20, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/568

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/zx2g2_dWLGc

#IranWar #TRIPP #Teghut #Armenia #PoliticalPrisoners #ArmenianPOWs #KonstantinSokolov

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Week in Review - July 12, 2026

In this Groong Week in Review episode, Hovik and Asbed cover the 36th NATO summit in Ankara, escalating Iran war developments, and Armenia's removal of murals honoring fallen soldiers. We discuss NATO's defense spending surge, Trump's shift on Turkey and F-35 access, Ukraine aid commitments, and what these geopolitical shifts mean for Armenia and the South Caucasus amid ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations.

Topics:

• NATO summit in Ankara
• Iran War Update
• Taking Scissors to Armenia
• Shaping the Parliament
• OSCE vs. Garegin II

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 567 | Recorded: July 13, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/567

#ArmenianNews #NATOSummit #IranWar #TRIPP #ArmeniaAzerbaijan #ArmenianParliament #GareginII #OSCE

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Conversations on Groong - July 11, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Dmitry Suslov about Russia's strategic position across multiple fronts: the Ukraine War, Armenia's post-election Western pivot, TRIPP and Syunik, and Europe's rearmament against Russia. We discuss the long-term confrontation between Russia and NATO, Pashinyan's Western alignment after the June 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election, and how transport corridors in the South Caucasus may reshape regional containment lines.

Topics:

• Ukraine's long war and endgame
• Novorossiya and a landlocked Ukraine?
• Europe rearms against Russia
• NATO 3.0 and containment
• Armenia's post-election Western pivot
• EU promises versus EAEU dependence
• TRIPP, Syunik, and Russian red lines

Guest: Dmitry Suslov

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 566 | Recorded: July 9, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/566

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/NFS46vZ039Q

#Russia #UkraineWar #NATO #Europe #Armenia #SouthCaucasus #TRIPP #Syunik #EAEU

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Conversations on Groong - July 10, 2026

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Sergey Markedonov about Russia's strategic position amid the Ukraine War and its implications for Armenia. We discuss why Moscow remains bogged down in Ukraine despite its military superiority, how the war of attrition shapes Russian bandwidth for the South Caucasus, the geopolitical role of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, and Pashinyan's Western pivot following the June 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

Topics:

• Ukraine's war of attrition
• Russia's strategic bandwidth problem
• TRIPP and Iran's red lines
• Israel's Armenian Genocide move
• Armenia's Western pivot after elections

Guest: Sergey Markedonov

Hosts:

• Hovik Manucharyan
• Asbed Bedrossian

Episode 565 | Recorded: July 8, 2026

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/565

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/YqsHd8TSyHQ

#ArmenianNews #SouthCaucasus #UkraineWar #Russia #Armenia #EAEU #TRIPP #Geopolitics

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