Author: Jidarian Alex

Blockshopper
Jan 15 2010

General practitioner buys Burbank 4BD for $1.01M

by Shania Sampson, published Jan. 15, 2010 ShareThis

Dr. Karine Kirakosyan, Andrey Ayvazyan and Vladimir Ayvazyan bought a
four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home at 1250 Alta Paseo in Burbank from Elvira
G. Salas and Roberto Salas for $1.01 million on Dec. 8.

The Salases’ paid $1.13 million for the property in Jan. 2007. The
2,786-square-foot house was built in 1957 in the Burbank Hillside
neighborhood.

Dr. Kirakosyan is a general practitioner in Burbank. She earned her
M.D. from Yerevan State Medical University in Armenia and completed
her residencies at Morehouse University School of Medicine and at the
State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine.

According to BlockShopper.com, there have been 618 home sales in
Burbank during the past 12 months, with a median sales price of
$478,000.

ews/story/2400054584-General_practitioner_buys_Bur bank_4BD_for_1_01M

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: RUSSIA, TURKEY SET AMBITIOUS GOALS

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.01.2010 17:25 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Russia and Turkey have set ambitious goals, Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev finds.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised energy cooperation with
Turkey on Wednesday and said he looked to joint efforts in addressing
regional disputes.

Meeting with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at his
country residence near Moscow, Medvedev highlighted joint gas and
oil projects: "We are happy to maintain serious cooperation in this
sphere."

Russia and Turkey signed energy deals in August 2009, which will
support Turkey’s drive to become a regional hub for gas and oil
transits while helping Moscow diversify supply routes and potentially
maintain its monopoly on natural gas shipments from Asia to Europe.

Turkey allowed Russia’s Gazprom to use its sector of the Black Sea
for the South Stream pipeline to pump Russian and Central Asian gas
to Europe bypassing Ukraine. And Russia agreed to join a consortium
to build the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline from the Black Sea to the
Mediterranean.

The two states also agreed to expand the existing Blue Stream gas
pipeline for possible shipments via Turkey to Cyprus and Israel.

Russia was also reported to be seeking to take part in the construction
of Turkey’s first nuclear power plants.

Echoing the Russian leader, Erdogan highlighted the importance of
energy ties and said their countries enjoy "an exemplary cooperation"
in the sector.

Medvedev said he hoped Erdogan’s current visit will promote "stronger
ties between our countries," which he said were important for
"addressing complicated regional problems," RIA Novosti reported

Today

Jan 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Heritage Foundation expert: Strategic partnership with Turkey is more
important for U.S. than ties with Armenia

Day.Az interview with head of Heritage Foundation’s Russia office
Yevgeni Volkov.

It is believed that following August 2008 events in the South Caucasus,
U.S resigned itself to the fact that Russia is a major player in
the region, and therefore it has markedly reduced its activity in
settlement of the Karabakh conflict. How would you comment on that?

One should not exaggerate significance of the August events for the
U.S. position in the Karabakh issue. In my opinion, the U.S. realized
that Russia wants to play a leading role in this region. However,
this does not mean that America has withdrawn the question of how to
maintain and increase its influence in the South Caucasus because of
the strategic importance of this region for political and economic
interests of the United States, particularly in terms of the energy
impact and U.S. energy security, from the agenda.

So I think that decline in the U.S. activity is not related to its
recognizing Russia’s dominant role. I think the U.S. does not see a
pressing need to intervene in the settlement and contribute to it,
primarily because Washington is extremely busy with American security
concerns. This is, of course, Afghanistan. As you know, today it is
the most painful point for Americans which absorbs huge political,
financial and military resources. That Obama has recently announced
increasing number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and attempts to
involve new political leverages indicates that Afghanistan is top
priority in American politics.

The second point that also affects U.S. policy in the region is Iran.

The fact that the Iranian nuclear program is becoming more and more
real and it requires a response from the international community,
including possible sanctions is already a serious problem for the
United States. It will certainly have impact on U.S. activity in
other directions.

Iraq is also a country where tension prevails along with some
progress. U.S. troops remain there, although Obama has announced
the withdrawal.

The U.S. politics is experiencing a lot of problems which require very
considerable resources. So, the United States is simply physically
unable to get actively involved in resolving the Karabakh conflict.

This does not mean that the U.S. will not be watching this process
and will not be involved. But one should not expect any particular
activity in this regard.

Moreover, I think, for Obama and his administration, conclusion of
any treaty in this area is not just a winning card. Any progress in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or main direction of relations with Russia
to conclude a treaty on strategic offensive weapons are more important.

So, such a decrease in activity is due to other priorities of American
foreign policy.

How do you assess Turkey’s peacekeeping efforts undertaken in
the past year towards the normalization of the situation around
Nagorno-Karabakh?

I think Turkey’s peacekeeping efforts in this regard are certainly
linked to Ankara’s attempts to increase its influence in the region.

Ankara took failure of the European Union to begin country’s
integration process into the European Union with an offense.

Currently, Turkey is trying to increasingly play the role of regional
leader, including in those regions which are adjacent to its borders.

So, I think that Turkey will continue a dialogue with Azerbaijan and
relations with Armenia, and will seek to play a more active role
because it makes Ankara’s position even stronger in the region as
a whole, and to some degree vis a vis the EU, since it highlights
Turkey’s role as a civilized, active state, which is able to focus not
only on the East, but also in countries which are part of the OSCE,
such as Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Can the U.S. president recognize the "Armenian genocide" in April
this year under influence of the Armenian lobby obviously spoiling
relations with its strategic ally Turkey?

I believe this is a complicated issue. Certainly, the Armenian lobby
is pressing the White House, but we should not forget that there
is substantial Turkish lobby. U.S. considers Turkey its main ally
in the Middle East. The Turkish army is a key factor of stability
for NATO in this region, which provides control of many countries
opposed to the U.S. I am referring to Iran, but the Turkish army,
certainly has an impact on situation in Iraq.

Therefore, I believe that Washington does not want to spoil relations
with Turkey recognizing the "1915 genocide." I think that this issue
will once again put off since partnership with Ankara is extremely
important for Washington. In my opinion, it is more important than
relations with the Armenian lobby and Yerevan at the state level.

What is the future of Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and ratification
of relevant protocols by parliaments of the two countries in case
the status quo in relations between Baku and Yerevan is maintained?

I think ultimately too much will depend on how the settlement process
will evolve. I do not exclude that such ratification is possible in
the case the status quo is maintained. But there are a lot of unknowns,
which are connected with domestic factors, such as internal political
situation and balance of power in Ankara.

I believe that this process will also be difficult. Similarly, it
will be difficult also for Armenia, which, in general, is seeking at
least some support from Turkey in settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

So, I think that one should not expect any breakthrough.

MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE EXPLAINS ATTRIBUTING ORTHODOX CHURCH IN KARABAKH TO ARMENIA

news.az
Jan 13 2010
Azerbaijan

Philip Ryabikh "We already avoid evaluation of existed realities",
spokesman for the Russian Patriarchy Philip Ryabikh.

"Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t value political borders between
different countries, we take today’s realities into consideration",
Spokesman for the Russian Patriarchy Philip Ryabikh told commenting
on his statement at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday about
belonging the Nagorno Karabakh Orthodox Church to Armenia.

"We create our laities to support our Russian-speaking compatriots
spiritually. Our efforts are only for care and spiritual support
to the people. The Nagorno Karabakh laity was established through
the Armenian Apostolic Church and therefore it was mentioned on the
eve of Patriarch’s upcoming visit to Armenia where he will discuss
relations with the Armenian Church".

Philip Ryabikh said that church in Nagorno Karabakh was registered
last year, but had no building yet. He said he didn’t know exact
number of Orthodox Christians in Nagorno Karabakh.

"May be there is a little number, but we have to support them
spiritually. There is a question not abut the political position
of any Russian church. We have simple duty that is carried out. We
support peaceful solution to Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and we
are assisting that. There were series of meetings between the Moscow
Patriarch, All Caucasian Sheikh and Armenian Catholicos. We already
avoid evaluation of existed realities.

Philip Ryabikh, who spoke about the upcoming visit of the Russian
Patriarch Cyril to Armenian in March at a press conference in Moscow
on Wednesday, said Moscow Patriarch had three churches in Armenia –
in Yerevan, Gumru, the Russian military base and in Nagorno Karabakh".

RUSSIA CLAIMS TURKISH BACKING FOR PIPELINE
By Olga Rotenberg (AFP)

Agence France Presse
Jan 13 2010

MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Russia had
won Turkey’s backing for Moscow to build a key section of a new gas
pipeline seen as a rival of an EU-backed project in Turkish waters.

Putin’s comments came after talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep
Tayyip Erdogan that were the latest example of the expanding strategic
relationship between Moscow and Ankara.

"We have agreed that by November 10 the Turkish government will carry
out an audit and will give us the permission for the construction"
of the South Stream pipeline, Putin said.

"The Turkish prime minister has confirmed this intention today,"
he added.

Russia wants to build a section of the South Stream pipeline through
Turkey’s portion of the Black Sea to create a new route for Russian
gas to Europe that will by-pass Ukraine.

But Turkey is also a key player in the rival EU-backed Nabucco pipeline
which aims to carry gas from the Caspian Sea region to Europe and is
seen as a way of reducing European reliance on Russian gas.

Turkey in August agreed to allow Moscow to start surveys in its
territorial waters in the Black Sea for South Stream.

Putin said the ecological surveys had already been completed while
the seismological and geological surveys were 85-90 percent complete.

"The energy sphere has a very important significance. In this, we share
a very developed cooperation," Erdogan told Russian President Dimitry
Medvedev in earlier talks at his country residence outside Moscow.

"Not only in the sphere of natural gas but in crude products there
exist a whole series of opportunities," he added.

NATO member Turkey, which has long pursued EU membership, has sought
to downplay rivalry between the two competing pipelines.

It was unclear whether gas supplies were sufficient to fill two
pipelines and Moscow has been keen to complete South Stream ahead
of its rival, with plans to go online with the pipeline’s section in
Turkish waters as early as 2013.

South Stream is being jointly developed by Russian gas giant Gazprom
and Italy’s Eni.

Turkey in turn is seeking Russian support for a planned Turkish oil
pipeline to be built from the Black Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan on
the Mediterranean.

Russia will play an active role in the project and the two sides are
in talks over Moscow taking a stake, Russian deputy Prime Minister
Igor Sechin told reporters on the sidelines of the meetings.

Putin said he had floated the signing of a tripartite agreement
between Italy, Russia and Turkey on the pipeline and added that
Erdogan had agreed.

Turkey in November scrapped a 2008 tender won by a Russian-led
consortium to build the country’s first nuclear power plant. But
the two sides Wednesday signed a joint statement on a building a
nuclear facility.

The two countries have also joined efforts to broker peace between
ex-Soviet states Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are still technically
at war over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Shared concerns over stability in the Caucasus were tested as Russia
fought a brief war with Georgia in August 2008, but Moscow has since
played a role in the recent rapprochement between Turkey and its
ally Armenia.

But Putin said the issue of Karabakh — which is complicating the
ratification of a deal re-establishing diplomatic ties — should not
be linked to Turkish-Armenian relations.

"I do not think it is right to put them in one package," he said.

Russia is Turkey’s main gas supplier, accounting for about 60 percent
of the country’s gas imports.

RUSSIA SHOULD RECOGNIZE NAGORNO KARABAKH’S INDEPENDENCE, VLADIMIR ZHIRINOVSKY

news.az
Jan 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Vladimir Zhirinovsky While Nagorno Karabakh has declared its
independence, Russia should admit it, deputy chairman of the Russian
parliament said.

"While Nagorno Karabakh has declared its independence, Russia should
admit it," deputy chairman of the Russian parliament, leader of
Russian Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky said in his
interview to Latvia-based Neatkarigas Rita Avize newspaper.

Armenian media reports that to the question "Can Transnistria hope
that Russia will recognize it as a state like Abkhazia and South
Ossetia?" Zhirinovsky said: "Of course, there is such a hope. And
not because Russia wants to send its army somewhere else. Romania
instigates it. Romanians are hot-tempered. Russia called to recognize
all the territories that do not want to be in the composition of
the former USSR republics. For 16 years, Russia has been calling to
recognize Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria and Nagorno Karabakh."

Speaking about Nagorno Karabakh, Vladimir Zhirinovsky said: "While
Nagorno Karabakh declared its independence, I think Russia should
admit it. I am not against Azerbaijanis, or Armenians, but they will
never reach an agreement on this issue. Georgians will never reach
agreement with Abkhazians, Arabs with Jews and Turks with Kurds."

ERTUGRUL GUNAY: ARMENIAN CHURCH AT AKHTAMAR ISLAND WON’T BE TOPPED WITH CROSS

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.01.2010 17:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Church of Holy Cross at Akhtamar Island
won’t be open for liturgies or topped with a cross, Turkish Minister
of Culture and Tourism, Ertugrul Gunay stated.

"The church is a museum under the Ministry and will be operating as
a museum only," Milliyet cited the Minister as saying.

In December 2009, Van mayor Munir Karaloglu announced that, after
speaking with Turkey’s Ministry of Culture, a decision was made to
open the Armenian church on the island of Akhtamar. As he noted, the
church, located in Lake Van in eastern Turkey, will begin officially
opening its doors on September 12, 2010.

The 300-seat Holy Cross Church, located on a small island in the
middle of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, is in many ways a symbol of
the country’s Armenian community. The church was built between 915
and 921 during the reign of Armenian King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and
was one of the most important religious buildings in the region. The
church, whose sandstone walls and dome are adorned with carvings of
Jesus Christ and David and Goliath, is considered one of the greatest
examples of Armenian architecture of the period, and an inspiration
for the Gothic style that later developed in Europe, according to the
New York-based Landmarks Foundation, which has advised on the church’s
restoration. By the end of last century, the church was falling apart
due to the heavy rains and winds that swept across the lake.

Following its restoration and reopening in 2007 Holy Cross Church
was operating as a museum.

PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: 2010 WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT YEAR OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY

ArmInfo
2010-01-11 09:55:00

ArmInfo. 2010 would be an important year of economic recovery,
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said at a working meeting in
Tsakhkadzor dedicated to the policies of social-economic development
of the capital and the marzes of Armenia.

S. Sargsyan underscored that the set objectives would also be
reached through the dependable work of the territorial and local
administration structures. The Mayor of Yerevan and the Heads
of regional administrations presented summarized reports on the
results of the socio-economic development, spoke about the issues of
regional and communal significance and outlined the steps designed
to address them. At the meeting discussed was also a wide range
of issues pertaining to the improvement in the areas of territorial
administration and tax collection as well as the tendencies registered
in the economic development of the marzes. The participants of the
meeting talked about a number of issues related to the resolution of
priority issues in the capital and in the regions of Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed the necessity of adopting a more thoughtful
attitude toward the citizens and their problems by the territorial
structures and instructed to strengthen the interrelation between
the citizens and the territorial administration bodies.

The President of Armenia gave instructions regarding all the issues
that were discussed at the meeting.

Lyudmila Sargsyan: Hunchakian Party will form part of ANC as before
09.01.2010 16:20 GMT+04:0

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Yerevan hosted Saturday the 7th session of
Social-Democrat Hunchakian party. Members of all parties belonging to
Armenian National Congress (ANC), as well as actors Yervand Manaryan,
Ashot Adamyan and Armenia’s ex-President Levon Ter-Petrossian.

Discussion was also attended by 50 delegates representing the local
cells of Hunchakian party, who will elect a party leader and a central
management body.

Hunchakian party leader Lyudmila Sargsyan delivered a speech,
expressing conviction that certain members’ recent attempts to split
the party were not crowned with success. `Hunchakian Party will form
part of ANC as before, thus contributing to the reinstatement of
constitutional order and democracy in the country,’ she noted.

According to her, Armenia has lost its sovereignty and is now
`governed by a police regime’.

The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party is one of the oldest political
parties in Armenia and the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire
and in Persia in the 1880s. It was founded in 1887 by Avetis
Nazarbekian, Mariam Vardanian, Ruben Khan-Azat and others, who studied
in Geneva, Switzerland, with the goal to gain Armenia’s independence
from the Ottoman Empire, which is part of Armenian national liberation
movement Its name, taken from its newspaper Hunchak, means "Bell" in
English, and is taken by party members to represent "awakening,
enlightenment, and freedom."

Hunchak party fought many battles against the Ottoman Empire, to free
the Armenian people from Turkish rule. One of Armenia’s famous
national heroes Andranik Ozanian, at first, joined the Hunchak party,
but disagreement with party policies led Andranik to leave the Hunchak
ranks and join the Dashnak party.

The party also played role in establishment of Democratic Republic of
Armenia, as party members took part in the Battle of Sardarapat,
during the World War I at Caucasus Campaign, which defended the
Armenian capital of Yerevan from Army of Islam of Ottoman Empire.

In the early 1990s, it took part in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

This party is operates branches in United States, Lebanon, Syria,
Kuwait, Armenia, Egypt, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Australia,
Britain, France, Cyprus etc.

It was also active in Lebanon, where it competes for the six National
Assembly seats reserved for ethnic Armenians.
In Armenia it forms part of opposition bloc. Party member Yeghia
Jerjerian is a member of Lebanese parliament.

The Hunchakian party has established affiliate organizations such as
the AEBU which is an organization that helps with educational, health
and social care, the Armenian Dkhrouhi Youth Association and HMM
(Homenmen) which is a sporting organization (not to be confused with
Homenetmen).

International Living: Armenia leading among CIS by quality of life index
08.01.2010 14:22 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ American Journal of International Living has
published an annual ranking of life quality in different countries.
Armenia has a leading position among the CIS by quality of life index.

According to the published list, the country earned the average score
– 56, yielding among the Commonwealth countries, only Moldova, which
scored 65 points and Ukraine with 62 points.

Index of International Living takes into account such criteria as cost
of living, economy, infrastructure, environment, health, culture and
leisure, freedom, risk and security, climate conditions. 100 points is
a maximum for each criteria.

Armenia’s highest showings are `cost of living" (64), "culture and
leisure (53), "economy" (45), "environment" (81), "health" (46), "
risk and safety "(64)," climatic conditions "(72).

Belarus and Russia scored 54 points each. Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Azerbaijan earned 51, Uzbekistan – 49, Kazakhstan – 48, Turkmenistan –
46.
According to "International Living", a country with the highest
quality of life is France – 82 points.

CIS – The Commonwealth of Independent States, an interstate
association (agreement on cooperation between independent countries)
of the most former Soviet republics of USSR. The organization was
founded on 8 December 1991 by the Republic of Belarus, the Russian
Federation, and Ukraine, when the leaders of the three countries
signed a Creation Agreement on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and
the creation of CIS. At the same time they announced that the new
alliance would be open to all republics of the former Soviet Union, as
well as other nations sharing the same goals.
On 21 December 1991, the leaders of eight additional former Soviet
Republics – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to join the CIS, thus bringing the
number of participating countries to 11. Georgia joined two years
later, in December 1993. As of that time, 12 of the 15 former Soviet
Republics participated in the CIS.

International Living , magazine published in the U.S. International
Living publishes an annual rating of quality of life in different
countries.