Dziunik Aghajanian - From Moscow to Riyadh: New Fault Lines Around Armenia | Ep 590, Sep 25, 2026

Conversations on Groong - September 25, 2026 In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about shifting geopolitical pressures on Armenia following Russia's September 2026 parliamentary elections. We discuss Putin's strengthened domestic position, the Armenia-Russia confrontation over the 102nd base, asset confiscation and anti-corruption efforts targeting Russian interests, and how Middle East escalation and the Iran War reshape Armenia's strategic environment amid ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Process tensions. Topics: - Russian parliamentary election outcome - Middle East escalation and the Houthis - Armenia-Russia confrontation, including the 102nd base - Asset confiscation, anti-corruption, and Russian interests - Azerbaijan-Armenia "durable peace" tensions - Armenian opposition strategy Guest: Dziunik Aghajanian Timestamps: 0:00 Intro to show with Amb. Dziunik Aghajanian 0:24 Russia's Duma election results & aftereffects 21:06 The baseless claim of resettling 300,000 Azerbaijanis in Armenia 22:38 Is the issue of enclaves a land grab, or an effort to further surround Iran? 24:42 Why is the Russian 102nd Military base being publicly discussed these days? 28:49 Pashinyan has gambled its territory, colluding with Azerbaijan to draw Russia into a second front against the west 33:08 Why didn't Azerbaijan simply take Jermuk when Russia didn't intervene? 37:52 How is the base most important for TODAY - Russia or Armenia? 39:22 Are property confiscations another Pashinyan tool in de-Russifying Armenia? 47:42 Hikmet Hajiyev's genocide tour of artsakh - why is Azerbaijan escalating against Pashinyan's "durable peace"? 52:43 Why is the opposition inert in the face of all these provocations? 58:10 When is the right time? Is this opposition capable of changing the country's direction? 1:04:04 About Amb. Dziunik Aghajanian 1:04:43 SUPPORT GROONG - podcasts.groong.org/donate Hosts: - Hovik Manucharyan - Asbed Bedrossian Episode 590