Asbarez: Jordan, Keyribarian, Khachadourian Among Women Honored by Sen. Portantino

From left: Hasmik Keyribarian, Dr. Frieda Jordan, Sen. Portantino and Taleen Khachadourian

Dr. Frieda Jordan, Hasmik Keyribarian and Taleen Khachadourian were among 15 women honored by State Senator Anthony Portantino, who hosted the 25th Senate District Women of Distinction Awards Reception Sunday in Pasadena.

Portantino recognized the distinguished individuals in honor of Women’s History Month, saying that the honorees who reside or work in Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Claremont, La Crescenta, Los Angeles, and La Verne “have exemplified and extended volunteerism, philanthropy, and leadership throughout all of the communities in our district.”

25th Senate District Women of Distinction awards recipients

The California State Legislature first recognized March as Women’s History Month in 1987 and has since continued the tradition. Each year, members of the State Legislature recognize exceptional women in their district with a celebration commemorating their efforts.

“I am proud to recognize 15 remarkable women who are dedicated to serving our communities with distinction,” stated Senator Portantino. “The breath of their successful efforts are reflected in countless individuals they have helped and inspired.  They are all deserving of this special recognition and I am thankful to be in a position to shine a light on them and the difference they make for the 25th Senate District.”

Dr. Jordan of Glendale is the Co-Founder and President of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (ABMDR), which was established in 1999 to bring the hope of life-saving bone marrow stem cell transplantation. She has served as Associate Director of the HLA and Immunogenetics Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and headed the DNA Molecular Typing Division at Foundation Laboratory.

In 2009, Dr. Jordan and her colleagues launched the ABMDR Stem Cell Harvesting Center in Armenia. ABMDR has recruited over 33,000 donors in 31 countries, identified close to 4,400 patients, and facilitated 39 bone marrow transplants to date. Dr. Jordan has also conducted workshops worldwide and co-authored numerous medical papers.

Over the past 20 years, Hasmik Keyribarian of Glendale has devoted herself whole-heartedly to the Armenian American Medical Society, an organization that provides professional development opportunities for health care providers and resources for the community to lead healthy lives.

Through her work with the Armenian American Medical Society, she has led efforts to organize the annual Glendale Health Festival, which provides free vision, dental, and medical care for nearly 1,000 children and adults in the community. It is through her unwavering involvement in the Armenian community that she found herself volunteering with various organizations including the Armenian Education Foundation and the Western Diocese.

Taleen Khatchadourian of Glendale has been an active member of the Armenian American community for many years and dedicated her time to Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School and organizations such as Homenetmen (Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts) and the Armenian General Benevolent Union. Ms. Khatchdourian has served as Board Adviser to the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry since its inception, co-chairing its first Walk of Life and receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2009 and again in 2015.

Recently, Khatchadourian joined Guidelight Group and has worked to assist transition aged teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities by advocating for their needs and navigating the resources they require to live their best life.  Ms. Khatchadourian is the current Board President of the Armenian Autism Outreach Project, with a mission to support individuals and families effected by autism, while educating the community for a meaningful integration for all individuals. 

Other honorees of the day included, Vannia De La Cuba, Dr. G. Gabrielle Starr, Dr. Hilarie Dyson, Edith M. Fuentes, Joanna Linkchorst, Juliana Serrano, Carmenita Helligar, Janet Kim, Catherine Kim, Celeste Voce, Suzanne Weerts and Dr. Devorah Lieberman.

Armenia defense minister: No military buildup now on our border but we are ready to defend our country at any cost

News.am
Armenia – March 15 2023

The risk of military escalation has never stopped, and Armenia has always announced it. Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan told about this to reporters at the National Assembly today.

"It gives us a reason to be vigilant and ready to protect the borders of our country," he added.

To the question of how Armenia will face this military escalation, Papikyan answered: "It is the confrontation task of the armed forces; I don't want to give details here. If necessary, we will turn to our partners, too. If necessary, we will petition. Let's not talk about something that didn't happen now. You ask, ‘Are you ready to face?’ We are ready to defend every inch of our country at any cost."

Asked whether there is a military buildup on the borders of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia, the defense minister responded: "The [Artsakh] Defense Army always makes statements about the [military] buildup around Nagorno-Karabakh and the rest. Also, the Russian peacekeepers [in Artsakh] disseminate a daily bulletin about it. I would propose to close the matter with this.

As for the Armenia’s borders, there is currently no [military] buildup recorded; but this does not mean that we should stop or reduce our vigilance. As there is talk of being ready, let it not be seem that we are preparing for war. We are not deviating from our peace agenda, but that does not mean that our country's borders or territorial integrity are negotiable."

Azerbaijanis shoot at Karabakh residents working in vineyard, work stops

News.am
Armenia – March 15 2023

While doing pruning work in the vineyards of the Martuni region of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), three people came under fire from the Azerbaijani military positions, Armenian News-NEWS.am has learned from the Artsakh Police.

"On March 15, at around 11 o'clock, a report was received at the duty unit of the Martuni regional police department that while doing pruning work in the vineyards near the area called ‘Under Khazaz" in the Amaras valley, 3 citizens came under irregular fire being fired by firearms from the adjacent Azerbaijani military positions. As a result of the shootings, agricultural work was stopped. The information about the incident was passed on to the Russian peacekeeping contingent [in Artsakh]. There are no victims," the report says.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/14/2023

                                        Tuesday, 


Armenia Sees High Risk Of ‘Escalation’ In Karabakh

        • Astghik Bedevian

Nagorno-Karabakh - Azerbaijani servicemen stand guard at a checkpoint next to 
the Lachin corridor, December 26, 2022.


Armenia continued to accuse Azerbaijan on Tuesday of planning to provoke fresh 
fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh or along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

“I consider the possibility of escalation to be high,” Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian told a news conference.

Pashinian pointed to Azerbaijan’s “increasingly aggressive rhetoric” and “some 
other information” which he refused to disclose.

In recent days, the Azerbaijani military has repeatedly accused Armenia of 
transporting military personnel and weapons to Karabakh and threatened to take 
“resolute” actions to stop the alleged shipments. Yerevan has strongly denied 
the allegations, saying that Baku may be preparing the ground for launching 
offensive military operations.

There has also been an increase in ceasefire violations reported by the 
conflicting sides.

Pashinian said a key task of the Armenian side now is to prove that “we are not 
the authors of that escalation.” He said the recent deployment of European Union 
monitors on the Armenian side of the border will serve that purpose. He 
expressed hope that Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh will also deter Baku.

Opposition lawmakers scoffed at Pashinian’s remarks. They said the heightened 
risk of another military escalation in the conflict underscores his 
administration’s failure to rebuild Armenia’s armed forces after the 2020 war in 
Karabakh.

“Our public has seen three attacks on Armenia since the 44-day war,” said Tigran 
Abrahamian of the Pativ Unem bloc. “In all three cases, with a few exceptions, 
it saw a state of disarray, the loss of hundreds of lives and hundreds of 
hectares of [Armenian] territory. That is to say that a deterrent, preventive 
mechanism, which Armenia was able to create, has not been created.”

Gegham Manukian of the Hayastan alliance similarly claimed that Pashinian has 
been busy trying to cement his hold on power instead of strengthening the 
country’s defense and security system.

In Manukian’s words, the deployment of 100 or so European monitors could on the 
contrary add to security threats facing Armenia because it was strongly opposed 
by Russia.

“[Pashinian] has argued that he invited the Europeans so that they monitor the 
actions of Armenia and the Russian [military] contingent and assure Azerbaijan 
that Armenia and Russia plan no military actions against Azerbaijan,” Manukian 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.




Former NATO Chief Urges EU Pressure On Azerbaijan

        • Anush Mkrtchian

Armenia - Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stands at an 
Armenian border checkpoint leading to the Lachin corridor, .


Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged the European Union to 
pressure Azerbaijan to end its “inhuman” blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh during a 
visit to Armenia on Tuesday.

He met with the country’s leaders before visiting an Armenian border checkpoint 
at the entrance to the Lachin corridor that has been blocked by Azerbaijani 
government-backed protesters for the last three months.

Rasmussen also toured the Armenian resort town of Jermuk which was shelled by 
Azerbaijani troops during last September’s heavy fighting on the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He told reporters that he wanted to “watch with my 
own eyes the impact of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia.”

Rasmussen, who headed NATO from 2009-2014, went on to condemn the Azerbaijani 
blockade of the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia.

“The blockade … means there is a lack of food and life-saving medicine in 
Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “We are faced with a humanitarian crisis that could 
develop into a humanitarian catastrophe.”

“That is why I send a very clear message today to President [Ilham] Aliyev of 
Azerbaijan: dissolve the blockade today immediately,” added Rasmussen.

The EU, he said, must put “maximum pressure” on Baku for that purpose.

“The European Union has made an energy deal with Azerbaijan, and that could be 
used as a platform for critical dialogue with the government of Azerbaijan,” he 
said. “It may be that President Aliyev is an autocrat like [Russian] President 
Putin, but I believe that President Aliyev would not like to be put into the 
same position to become an international pariah like President Putin.”

Armenia - Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen speaks to 
journalists in Jermuk, .

Like the United States and Russia, the EU has repeatedly called for the 
reopening of Karabakh’s land link with Armenia. The Azerbaijani government has 
dismissed such calls, saying that the protesters are right to demand that it be 
allowed to inspect “illegal” mining in Karabakh.

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, made clear in late January that the 
27-nation bloc is not considering imposing sanctions on Baku despite the 
continuing blockade.

The head of the EU’s executive body, Ursula von der Leyen, described Azerbaijan 
as a “key partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels” when 
she signed the energy deal mentioned by Rasmussen last July. The EU is to double 
imports of Azerbaijani natural gas by 2027.

Rasmussen, who had also served as Denmark’s prime minister from 2001-2009, 
visited Armenia in his capacity as the founder of Rasmussen Global (RG), a 
European political consultancy advising governments and corporations. It is not 
clear whether the Armenian government is now among its clients.

The former NATO chief met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Defense Minister 
Suren Papikian and the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian, 
on Monday. He said he arrived in the South Caucasus at the invitation of its 
government to help boost its ties with the West.

“It’s our intention to have very strong cooperation with the government of 
Armenia,” Rasmussen said, adding that RG will specifically seek to enhance 
Yerevan’s “political dialogue” with the EU.




Armenia’s Car Imports Booming Due To Sanctions On Russia

        • Satenik Kaghzvantsian

Armenia - Car carrier trailers line up near a customs terminal outside Gyumri, 



Armenia’ national customs service is struggling to cope with rapidly growing 
imports of cars that appear to be mostly re-exported to Russia as a result of 
Western sanctions against Moscow.

Western automakers pulled out of the Russian market following the start of the 
war in Ukraine, pushing up the prices of new cars and forcing many Russians to 
switch to cheaper used models. Car traders from other nations, including 
Armenia, rushed to take advantage of the market opportunity.

According to the State Revenue Committee (SRC), the number of cars imported to 
Armenia jumped nearly six-fold to almost 45,300 last year. The sharp increase is 
continuing unabated as evidenced by long lines of mainly second-hand cars formed 
outside the country’s main customs terminal processing imported vehicles.

The owners and drivers of car carrier trailers lined up near the facility close 
to Gyumri complain that they spend days waiting to pay import duties and 
complete the customs clearance process.

“More than 200 customs clearances a day are carried out here right now,” Rustam 
Badasian, the head of the SRC, told reporters when he visited the Gyumri 
terminal at the weekend. “There is a huge influx [of imported cars] which we 
haven’t seen before.”

Badasian acknowledged that most of the vehicles brought to Armenia these are 
re-exported to Russia. Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic 
Union (EEU) means that they are exempt from import duties in Russia and other 
EEU member states.

Armenia - Newly imported cars at a customs facility outside Gyumri, March 13, 
2023.

One Armenian car trader, who did not want to be identified, said the import boom 
began “in the middle of last year.”

“My guess is that 70-80 percent of the cars are then exported to the Russian 
Federation,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Other goods manufactured in third countries are also re-exported from Armenia to 
Russia due to the Western sanctions. This explains why Armenian exports to 
Russia nearly tripled, to $2.4 billion, in 2022.

Official Armenian statistics also shows that individual cash remittances from 
Russia to Armenia quadrupled to almost $3.2 billion in January-November 2022. 
The soaring trade with and cash flows from Russia are the main reason why the 
Armenian economy grew by 12.6 percent last year.

“We are not violating any international obligations or legal norms,” Badasian 
said when asked about suggestions that Armenia is one of the countries that are 
helping the Russians evade the crippling sanctions.

Earlier this month, the U.S. departments of Justice, Treasury and Commerce 
issued a joint “compliance note” warning companies about the risk of violating 
U.S. sanctions on Moscow. The notice said that third-party intermediaries have 
commonly used China, Armenia, Turkey and Uzbekistan as “transshipment points” to 
Russia as well as Belarus.




Pashinian Noncommittal On Karabakh’s Self-Determination

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a news conference in 
Yerevan, .


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday pointedly declined to back 
Nagorno-Karabakh residents’ right to self-determination, highlighting a major 
change in Armenia’s traditional policy on the conflict with Azerbaijan.

Successive Armenian governments for decades championed that right in peace talks 
mediated by the United States, Russia and France.

A year ago, Pashinian and other senior Armenian officials stopped making 
references to the principle of self-determination it in their public statements. 
They have since spoken instead of the need to ensure “the rights and security of 
the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” fuelling opposition allegations that Yerevan 
is now ready to agree to Azerbaijani control over the Armenian-populated region.

Pashinian stuck to that line during news conference in Yerevan.

“We have said and keep saying that the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s 
rights and security is extremely important to us,” he said. “That is one of our 
key goals.”

“It’s up to the people and the government of Nagorno-Karabakh to decide the 
framework of the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s rights and security,” added Pashinian.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s office said on Monday that it is inviting 
“representatives of Karabakh’s Armenian community” to visit Baku for further 
talks on Karabakh’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan. The authorities in 
Stepanakert rejected the offer, saying that the talks should take place at the 
Karabakh headquarters of Russian peacekeepers and focus on “humanitarian, 
technical and humanitarian issues.”

Karabakh’s five leading political groups issued late on Monday a joint statement 
demanding that Yerevan refrain from calling into question “the Artsakh people’s 
right to self-determination.” They said Pashinian’s administration must comply 
with a 1992 parliamentary act that bans Armenia’s government from signing any 
document that would recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.

Pashinian did not clarify whether he could sign such a document. He again called 
for a direct dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert.

The prime minister charged at the same time that Baku is seeking a “mandate to 
perpetrate genocide or ethnic cleansing in Karabakh.”

Pashinian stated in January that the international community has always regarded 
Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The claim was denounced by the 
Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership.


Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

 

Armenian Foreign Minister to visit Russia soon

Save

Share

 17:11,

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is ready for a trilateral foreign ministerial meeting with Russia and Azerbaijan and soon the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs will visit Moscow to discuss the matter, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference when asked on the possibility of such meeting.

“Armenia is ready for that, I talked about it with the Russian President yesterday as well. The Foreign Minister’s visit to Moscow is expected soon, where it will be discussed…,” Pashinyan said.

He said that Armenia postponed the foreign ministerial meeting which was expected earlier not as a sign of boycott, but because of the acute crisis. “That situation required the minister to be in Yerevan. We’ve not rejected the meeting, that situation required the minister to be in Yerevan. We’ve said that the meeting hasn’t been cancelled, and we are ready for the meeting.”

Healthcare Ministry reports three new cases of measles

Save

Share

 10:21,

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. Three new cases of measles were confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the ongoing local outbreak in Armenia to 46, the Ministry of Healthcare reported Friday.

The Healthcare Ministry put the numbers of recoveries and hospitalizations as of Friday morning at 14 and 15 respectively.

43 patients are unvaccinated, while the three others had only one dose of the vaccine. 

Healthcare authorities recommend children get two doses of the measles vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. The Armenian healthcare ministry advised parents to get their children vaccinated if they’ve missed the immunization schedule.

At the same time, unvaccinated direct contacts of confirmed cases should also get vaccinated, healthcare authorities said.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. It is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.

The virus remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours. It can be transmitted by an infected person from 4 days prior to the onset of the rash to 4 days after the rash erupts.

Unvaccinated young children are at highest risk of measles and its complications. Unvaccinated pregnant women are also at risk. Any non-immune person (who has not been vaccinated or was vaccinated but did not develop immunity) can become infected.

The first sign of measles is usually a high fever, which begins about 10 to 12 days after exposure to the virus, and lasts 4 to 7 days. A runny nose, a cough, red and watery eyes, and small white spots inside the cheeks can develop in the initial stage. After several days, a rash erupts, usually on the face and upper neck. Over about 3 days, the rash spreads, eventually reaching the hands and feet.

Statistical Committee data shows increase in births

Save

Share

 14:13,

YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Population natural increase in January 2023 comprised 742, according to data released by the Statistical Committee.

3,229 births were recorded in January – a 12,6% and 13,2% growth compared to the same month of 2022 and 2021 respectively.

The number of deaths decreased. 2,487 deaths were recorded in January – a 10,8% and 17,5% decrease compared to the same month of 2022 and 2021 respectively.

The 742 natural increase indicator is 9,4 times higher than in January 2022.

Armenian Prime Minister congratulates Xi Jinping on re-election as President of People’s Republic of China

Save

Share

 13:13,

YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on Friday congratulated Xi Jinping on his re-election as President of the People’s Republic of China.

In a telegram sent to Xi Jinping, the Armenian Prime Minister congratulated the Chinese leader on the first 14th National People's Congress of China and conveyed best wishes to him on the occasion of his re-election as President of the People’s Republic of China.

“I am convinced that under your skillful leadership the People’s Republic of China will continue its further economic and social progress and will bring its important contribution to ensuring international peace and stability,” PM Pashinyan added in the letter, highly appreciating the traditional friendly Armenian-Chinese relations. PM Pashinyan reiterated readiness to make maximum efforts for the continuous development and expansion of bilateral cooperation.

He wished good health and fruitful activities to Xi Jinping, and lasting peace and welfare to the friendly people of China.

CivilNet: Aliyev cornered and lashing out in Artsakh

CIVILNET.AM

09 Mar, 2023 08:03

In the latest episode of Insights with Eric Hacopian, Eric discusses Azerbaijan’s attack last Sunday that left three Armenian police officers dead in Nagorno-Karabakh. Eric explains why Azerbaijan is resorting once again to violence, despite a number of positive developments in the negotiation process, and which other actors are to blame for the continued violence in Karabakh.

5 dead in new Azerbaijan-Armenia clash over Karabakh

Canada – March 6 2023

Reuters – Azerbaijani troops and ethnic Armenians exchanged gunfire on Sunday in Azerbaijan's contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, killing at least five people, according to reports from Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh was the focal point of two wars that have pitted Azerbaijan against Azerbaijan in the more than 30 years since both ex-Soviet states have achieved attendance.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said two servicemen were killed in an exchange of fire after Azerbaijani troops stopped a convoy it suspected of carrying weapons from the region's main town to outlying areas. It said the convoy had used an unauthorized road.

Armenia's foreign ministry said three officials from the Karabakh interior ministry were killed. It said the convoy had been carrying documents and a service pistol and dismissed as "absurd" Azerbaijani allegations that weapons were being carried.

Nagorno-Karabakh has long been recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan, though its population is made up predominantly of ethnic Armenians.

Armenian forces took control of Karabakh in a war that gripped the region as Soviet rule was collapsing in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan recaptured large swathes of territory in a six-week conflict in 2020 that ended with a truce and the dispatch of Russian peacekeepers, who remain in the region.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have met several times as part of efforts to resolve the conflict, but periodic violence has hurt peace efforts.

For the past three months, Azeri environmentalists have been blockading the Lachin corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, saying they oppose mining operations in the region.

Armenia says the protesters are political activists acting at the behest of Azerbaijan's authorities.

The World Court ordered Azerbaijan last month on Wednesday to ensure free movement through the Lachin corridor.

(Reporting Naila Bagirova, writing by Ron Popeski, editing by Marguerita Choy)