In the sixth edition of my show “Live With Gregory Pappas,” I hosted two individuals active in the Greek and Armenian-American political spheres for a discussion about Turkey.

Endy Zemenides, Executive Director of the Chicago-based Hellenic American Leadership Council, and Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, have both been called “enemies of Turkey” by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Zemenides and Hamparian have earned that title based on the lobbying efforts of their organizations to influence American foreign policy with Turkey.

Both of them joined me for an hour-long talk which covered issues including Armenian and Greek genocide recognition, the Armenian and Greek communities’ roles in American politics and U.S.-Turkey relations, among others.

“When I think about our communities, I think of them as, maybe, two different communities but one cause,” Hamparian said of the Armenian and Greek lobbies in America. “The dividing line is actually very hard to identify. It’s hard to know where the Greek-American lobby begins and the Armenian-American lobby ends.”

Zemenides echoed similar sentiments while mentioning his collaboration with Hamparian.

“I really enjoy working with Aram and see him as a role model because [the Armenians] are a little more combative…” he said, later adding that “Sometimes you’ve got to put up a fight.”

Watch the full episode