Armenian News Network - Groong: Week In Review Podcast

The Global Armenian Summit | Ep 172 - Oct. 30, 2022

Guest: 

• Harut Sassounian has published The California Courier newspaper since 1983. He is the President of the Armenia Artsakh Fund, a non-profit organization which has delivered to Armenia and Artsakh over $947 million of humanitarian assistance since 1989. He is currently engaged in forming the Diaspora Armenian Parliament through local elections.

Topics:

• What is the background of Armenia-Diaspora relations against which this conference is taking place?
• Why did the government need this event right now, and is this the right time?
• Who was invited, who was not? Why?

Hosts:

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

Episode 172 | Recorded: October 29, 2022

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Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Oct 23, 2022

Topics:

• Monitors in Armenia
• Russia-West Rivalry in the South Caucasus
• Armenian-Iranian Relations
• Maritime Agreement between Israel and Lebanon
• State of Lebanon’s Presidential Election

Guest:

• Arthur Khachikyan
• Yeghia Tashjian - TW/@Yeghig

Hosts:

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

Episode 171 | Recorded: October 23, 2022

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The LA City Council Scandal | Ep No. 170 - Oct. 21, 2022

Conversations on Groong

Guest: 

• Ardashes ‘Ardy’ Kassakhian who is a Glendale City Councilman, and the current mayor of Glendale - TW/@ArdyKassakhian
• Adrin Nazarian is the California State Assemblymember from the 46th District, representing the San Fernando Valley - TW/@adrin_nazarian

Topics:

• On the LA City Council scandal and how to move forward
• On Paul Krekorian, elected LA City Council president
• On redistricting in the aftermath of the scandal
• On the effect of the scandal on the LA mayoral race
• On Armenia’s Situation in the South Caucasus
• On Armenia’s Negotiations with Azerbaijan
• On Turkish-Armenian “Normalization”

Hosts:

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

Episode 170 | Recorded: October 19 & 20, 2022

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Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Oct 9, 2022

Topics:

- Introduction 0:00

- Census in progress in Armenia 2:24
Finally, after 2 years of delay, the 3rd decennial census is underway in Armenia, and hardly anyone is aware of it. We’ll talk about this.

- Meetings in Astana 18:42
Another large, international summit, this time of the CIS leaders took place in Kazakhstan. Pashinyan gave a plenary speech and talked with Putin and Aliyev. Mirzoyan had meetings with Lavrov and Bayramov.

- Developments in Iran 28:35
And we’ll also talk about the ongoing protests in Iran and their significance to Armenia, as well as Iran’s politics and policies towards its neighbors in the north, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

- Armenian websites compromised 45:33
We’ll talk with security expert Arthur Papyan about a number of recent cyber-attacks against Armenian websites. How serious were they and what do web site operators need to do in order to reduce the risk from such attacks?

- Remembering the TsOR artillery unit 58:37
In our last segment, we’ll talk about the fate of the TsOR Artillery Unit, who allegedly due to misdirection and false intelligence was sent to their death during the 44 day war. We’ll feature a short excerpt from our earlier recorded discussion with family members about this harrowing incident.

Guests:

• Hrant Mikaelian
• Artur Papyan
• Naira Melikyan
• Yeghishe Zakunts

Hosts:

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

Episode 169 | Recorded: October 17, 2022

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Conversations on Groong

Guest: 

• Benyamin Poghosyan, is the Chairman of the Yerevan based think tank Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies,

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

Hosts:

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

Episode 168 | Recorded: Friday, October 14, 2022

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Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Oct 9, 2022

Topics:

• Meetings in Prague
• Pashinyan Consolidating Power
• Personal Rants

Guest:

• Benyamin Poghosyan - TW/@Benyamin_Poghos

Hosts:

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

Episode 167 | Recorded: October 10, 2022

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Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Oct 2, 2022

Topics:

• US-Armenia Relations
• Azerbaijan’s Maps and Claims
• Azerbaijan Continues to Occupy Armenia
• Internal Politics in Armenia

Guest:

• Aram Suren Hamparian - TW/@ANCA_DC
• Rouben Galichian - RoubenGalichian.com
• Tevan Poghosyan - TW/@TevanPoghosyan

Hosts:

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

Episode 166 | Recorded: October 1 & 3, 2022

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Armenian News Network - Groong Week in Review - Sep 18, 2022

Topics:

• 00:03:31 - Azerbaijani Aggression: As many expected, Azerbaijan commenced a violent war against Armenia on September 13. There are hundreds of casualties including civilians and Armenian territories that have fallen in the hands of the aggressor. A fragile cease-fire is in place for now. We’ll analyze with our guests the basic facts and try to make sense of what happened.
• 00:11:04 - Russia and CSTO: The troubling aggression by Azerbaijan brought more troubles to Armenia’s relationship with Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) which so far is not sending any military aid but will only send a fact-finding mission to Armenia. Do Armenians (including our leadership) have unrealistic expectations from the organization? Listen to us to find out.
• 00:41:24 UN & International Reaction: Next, we’ll analyze international reaction to the attack including Armenia’s appeal to the UN Security Council as well as interests of Armenia’s Southern neighbor Iran.
• 00:54:35 War Communications: How did the Armenian government communicate with the public. Is the Armenian government trying to conceal the scale and impact of the Azerbaijani attack? 
• 01:07:13 Nancy Pelosi Visit: A high profile congressional delegation visited Armenia this week, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We’ll get analysis from our experts on what this means for US-Armenia relations.

Guest:

• Arthur Martirosyan
• Karen Vrtanesyan - TW/@hrant_m
• Suren Sargsyan - TW/@S_A_Sargsyan

Hosts:

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

Episode 165 | Recorded: Sunday, September 18, 2022

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

Topics:

• Latest MPG and IRI Poll Results
• What’s Up with the Armenian Economy?
• US Armenia Relations
• Geopolitical Developments

Guest:

• Hrant Mikaelian - TW/@hrant_m
• Suren Sargsyan - TW/@S_A_Sargsyan

Hosts:

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

Episode 163 | Recorded: Sunday, September 11, 2022

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From ‘revolution’ to war: deciphering Armenia’s populist foreign policy-making process
Conversation with Dr. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan

Armenian News Network/Groong - September 12, 2022

Recently two AUA professors (Prof. Hovhannes Nikoghosyan and  Prof. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan) published a paper in Taylor and Francis Online (TANDF) that analyzes the foreign policy decision making (FPDM) process of the Nikol Pashinyan administration, titled: "From ‘revolution’ to war: deciphering Armenia’s populist foreign policy-making process". In this episode, we talk to one of the authors of the paper, Prof. Ter-Matevosyan.

TOPICS:

* Introduction (02:22) - We discuss how the idea for the paper arose and the process through which the two scholars went through to conduct their research. 

* TURKEY (22:51) - One specific aspect of the war, that played a significant role in the outcome, was Turkey’s involvement. In our opinion, just by sharing with Azerbaijan accurate NATO signals and satellite intelligence in the form of targets to destroy is more than enough to consider its role as decisive. Turkey went beyond that of course. Thus, paying attention and estimating Turkey’s willingness to intervene on behalf of Azerbaijan would be critical for Armenia’s leadership. We of course have seen different members of the Pashinyan team assure the press and public, even weeks before the war, that Turkey would not dare intervene.

    - Have you looked at this aspect of Armenia’s foreign policy?
    - What did Pashinyan’s team do (or perhaps didn’t do) in this area to accurately assess the risk of intervention from Turkey and to put mitigations to counter this risk?
    - Was there any specific contact with Turkey in the run-up to Sep 2020?
    - How critical were Pashinyan’s and Armen Sarkissian’s statements on the 100th anniversary of Treaty of Sevres?

* RUSSIA ( 37:18) - Many, especially those in the pro-Pashinyan camp today, blame Russia for throwing Armenia under the bus for better relations with Turkey. 

    - What was the conduct of Pashinyan’s foreign policy with Russia like, preceding and during the war?
    - Are the claims that Russia deceived its ally Armenia correct?
    - Did Russia in recent years ever send a signal to Armenia that it would help defend Artsakh? 

* AZERBAIJAN (46:56) - Many of the analysts we talk to state that it was pretty much obvious that Aliyev was gearing up for war starting from 2011 when he effectively rejected the peace deal being considered at the time. It is apparent that Azerbaijan also bid its time, preparing militarily but also tactically selecting a suitable period in time. In 2020, the world was preoccupied with Covid and in the US it was election season, as well as a period of near isolationism from foreign involvements in the Trump administration.

    - Despite the external factors, was there anything that Armenia did bilaterally with Azerbaijan that could have delayed the war or helped change its outcome?
    - What was the outcome of the infamous Dushanbe elevator meeting?

Hosts:

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

Guest: 

- Prof. Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, an associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science and International Affairs Program at AUA. His research interests focus on Turkish politics, Kemalism, Political Islam & Security in the South Caucasus.

Episode 164 | Recorded: Sunday, September 12, 2022

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