NEGOTIATIONS ON EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN MAY BE FINALIZED UNDER SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The 3rd round of
negotiations on development of the EU-Armenian Action Plan under
the European Neighborhood Policy took place in Yerevan on May 3. The
Armenian delegation was headed by RA Deputy Foreign Minister Armen
Bayburtian. The EU was represented by the Eurocomission Director for
Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia Hugh Mingarelli. Prior
to negotiations, the European side expressed its deepest condolences
on the tragic accident of the Armenian plane. According to the RA
MFA Press and Information Department, the issues remaining from the
previous rounds were discussed during negotiations. Both sides assessed
positivley the negotiation results. The negotiations around the
EU-Armenia Action Plan may be finalized under a simplified procedure.

NON-FOOD COMMODITY PRICES INCREASE 1% IN ARMENIA IN APRIL 2006
Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. A 1% price growth in the non-food
commodity market was registered in Armenia in April on March 2006,
which was mainly due to a growth in the prices of horticultural goods
(6.5%), detergents (3.9%), jewelry (1.3%) and building materials
(1.4%). According to the RA National Statistical Service, a 0.1-1%
price growth was registered in the indicated period in the commodity
groups of furniture, kitchen itensils, carpets, textiles, domestic
electric appliances, stationery, clothing and footwear. The prices
of fuel and medicines declined by 0.1-0.6%, while the prices of
decoration goods remained unchanged in April on the previous month.

SERVICE TARIFFS GROW BY 0.4% IN ARMENIA IN APRIL
Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. A 0.4% increase was registered in the
tariffs of services provided to the Armenian population in April on
March 2006, which was mainly conditioned by a 1.3% increase in the
tariffs of housing and municipal services (in connection with the
increase in the natural gas tariffs on April 10), as well as by a 1.6%
growth in the prices of services in the sphere of culture. According
to the RA National Statistical Service, a 0.1-3.4% tariff growth was
registered in consumer, medical, transport, public catering services,
while recreational service tariffs declined by 0.6%. The tariffs of
legal, banking and educational services remained unchanged in April
on the previous month.

ARMENIAN DRAM APPRECIATES BY 0.5% AGAINST US DOLLAR IN APRIL 2006 COMPARED WITH SAME MONTH OF 2005
Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. In parallel with a 0.3% price growth on
the Armenian consumer market in April on March 2006, the Armenian drams
appreciated 0.2% against the US dollar. According to the RA National
Statistical Service, the increase in consumer prices and the settlement
exchange rate of the Armenian dram made 3.1% and 0.1% respectively
in April 2006 on December 2005. During the same period of last year,
a 7.9% decline in the exchange rate was registered along with a 2.8%
growth in consumer prices. The average settlement exchange rate of the
Armenian dram against the US dollar made 449.99 drams in April 2006,
which exceeds the respective index of last year by 0.5% (447.89 drams).

GASOLINE PRICE GROWS 1.9% IN ARMENIA IN APRIL
Noyan Tapan
May 03 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. The price of gasoline grew by 1.9%,
while the price of diesel fuel declined by 0.5% in Armenia in April
on March 2006. According to the RA National Statistical Service, the
prices of gasoline and diesel fule grew by 6.2% and 1.6% respectively
in April 2006 on the same month of 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PARLIAMENTARY HEARINGS ON ECONOMIC REFORMS IN ARMENIA TO BE HELD ON MAY 18
Noyan Tapan
May 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Parliamentary hearings “The Economic
Reforms in Armenia: Results and Development Prospects” will be held on
May 18 on the initiative of the RA National Assembly Standing Committee
on Financial, Credit, Budget and Economic Issues. According to the
committee chairman Gagik Minasian, the purpose of these hearings is
to analyze the process of reforms, which may become a stimulus for
developing the respective programs in the future. It is expected that
representatives of the parties not represented in the parliament,
as well as of various NGOs, scientific research institutions and
other organizations concerned will participate in the hearings.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

HUNT FOR ARMENIA AIR CRASH BODIES
BBC NEWS:
europe/4967464.stm
2006/05/03 11:12:35 GMT
Bad weather is slowing recovery of the bodies of 113 people killed
when a plane flying from Armenia to southern Russia crashed into the
Black Sea.
The Airbus A320 crashed at about 0215 local (2215 GMT) as it made
a second attempt to land at an airport near the Russian resort town
of Sochi.
It was initially refused permission to land because of poor weather,
which investigators blame for the crash.
All aboard died but only 38 bodies have been recovered from the water
so far.
Both Russia and Armenia have declared a day of mourning on 5 May,
the Kremlin said.
I was waiting for a call from my mother that she had arrived OK. But
she did not phone, so I phoned myself and heard that this accident
had happened Khapet Tadevosyan Victim’s relative
Officials co-ordinating the recovery effort say that emergency teams
have discovered baggage, life jackets, body parts and wreckage at
the spot where the aircraft plunged into the water.
Russian television showed footage of small boats returning to shore
with debris that they had picked up from the crash scene.
More than 20 vessels are involved in the recovery operation, but
weather conditions are preventing the use of aircraft.
‘Disappeared from radar’
The plane had been making a short flight of about an hour from the
Armenian capital Yerevan.
Reports said it was carrying 85 Armenian citizens, 26 Russians, one
Georgian and one Ukrainian. Among those on board were eight crew and
five children.
According to a Russian emergency official, the aircraft “disappeared
from radar screens as it was making another emergency landing attempt”.
“It plunged into the sea at an angle of 60 degrees,” Viktor Beltsov
said.
Armavia, the airline which owned the plane, say that it was in good
condition and that the crew were experienced.
The chief of the main civil aviation department in the Armenian
government also said the plane had passed planned checks and repairs
in April, Itar-Tass news agency reports.
Terrorism has been ruled out as a cause.
“The only thing that can be said about versions of what has happened
is that the version of a terrorist act has been fully excluded,” a
spokesperson for the Russian prosecutor-general’s office was quoted
as saying by Itar-Tass.
The Russian prosecutor general’s office announced it had launched
criminal proceedings for violation of air traffic procedures leading
to loss of life, according to the AFP news agency.
Sochi is a popular Russian seaside resort, near the border with
Georgia.
Stunned relatives sat quietly awaiting news at Adler airport just
outside Sochi and at the airport in Yerevan.
“I was waiting for a call from my mother that she had arrived OK. But
she did not phone, so I phoned myself and heard that this accident
had happened,” Khapet Tadevosyan, 32, told Reuters news agency as he
stood in the Yerevan airport building.
“She flew to Sochi to see her sisters, whom she hadn’t seen for 15
years,” he said.

113 KILLED AS ARMENIAN AIRLINER CRASHES
By Steve Gutterman
AP
Published: 03 May 2006
An Armenian passenger plane carrying 113 people crashed early today
off Russia’s Black Sea coast as it was headed in for landing, killing
everyone on board, emergency officials said.
Armenian airline officials said they believed the crash was due to
the stormy weather, but Sergei Kubinov, the head of the southern
district office of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry, said
that the age of the aircraft and technical factors could have been
involved. Investigators did not believe terrorism was a factor.
The Airbus A-320, which belonged to the Armenian airline Armavia,
disappeared from radar screens just under 4 miles from the shore
and crashed after making a turn and heading toward the Adler airport
near Sochi, Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov
said. Rescue officials in the ministry’s southern regional branch said
the 113 people aboard the plane, including six children, were killed.
Wreckage from the plane was found not far from the shoreline, Beltsov
said, and salvage workers said the fuselage was found at a depth of
1,485 feet.
Search and rescue teams have pulled 18 bodies from the water, Kubinov
said; none were wearing life jackets, indicating they did not have
sufficient warning to prepare for an emergency landing.
Nineteen boats and divers were involved in the search, and a deep-sea
robot was to be used to try to recover the plane’s black box, he
said. The water temperature was 12 degrees Celsius (53 F).
The plane disappeared from radar screens at about 2.15am local time
(2215 GMT Tuesday) during a flight from Yerevan to Sochi, a resort
city on the Black Sea in southern Russia, Beltsov said.
He said that the plane went down while trying to make a repeat attempt
at an emergency landing. However, the Interfax news agency quoted
the Russian air control agency as saying that the plane’s crew had
not declared any emergency.
Armavia deputy commercial deputy Andrei Agadzhanov said in the Armenian
capital, Yerevan, that the crew had communicated with Sochi ground
controllers while the plane was flying over the Georgian capital,
Tbilisi. The ground controllers said there were poor weather conditions
but the plane could still land, the representative said. Just before
the landing, however, the ground controllers told the crew to make
another circle in the air before approaching the airport. Then the
plane crashed.
He said the crew was highly experienced, the airplane was in good
condition and that weather conditions were “certainly” the cause.
The Airbus A-320 was manufactured in 1995 and had been acquired on
leasing by the airline. The aircraft underwent full-scale servicing
a year ago.
The plane broke up on impact with the water, and wreckage was thrown
into a wide arc, Kubinov said.
Rough seas, driving rain and low visibility were hampering the search,
Russian news agencies reported.
There was no indication yet of the nationalities of the passengers
and crew.
Agadzhanov said that the airline’s deputy general director, Vyacheslav
Yaralov, had been aboard.
Relatives of those aboard the plane were gathering at the Yerevan
airport for a charter flight to Sochi.

RA PRIME MINISTER EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES TO FAMILIES OF THE AIR CRASH VICTIMS
ArmRadio.am
03.05.2006 17:57
RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan expressed condolences on the
occasion of the crash of the “A-320” airplane of “Armavia” Company.
Information and Public Relations Office of the Government informs
that the Prime Minister’s address says, in particular:
“I express my deep sorrow and support for families and friends of
the citizens dead as a result of the crash of the plane flying from
Yerevan to Sochi.
Immediately after receiving the news, the authorities of the Republic
are doing everything possible to find out the reasons of the tragedy
and to provide necessary assistance to the families of the dead.”

RUSSIAN TV CHANNELS AIR FIRST REPORTS OF SOCHI AIR CRASH
Sources:
RTR Russia TV
NTV
Channel One TV
Moscow 3 May 06
Following early agency reports about an air crash of an Armenian
Airbus A320 passenger jet near Sochi, all leading Russian TV channels
reported first details of the tragedy.
Russia TV channel at 0300 gmt led with a correspondent report from
Sochi. Presenter Irina Losyuk said that a rescue operation was in full
swing, with additional Emergencies Ministry and border guards boats
making their way to the scene, with special equipment for deep-water
rescue operations and a group of divers on board. The television
said 13 bodies had been recovered, and that there were 113 people on
board, including five children and eight crew members. An operative
headquarters of the rescue operations is working in Adler airport.
Russia TV showed the head of the southern regional search and rescue
detachment of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, Igor Nazdrim, saying
the following: “All our boats, big and small, have been summoned. Our
cutter Mangust which was on duty this morning was one of the first
to arrive on the scene. Small boats from all the rescue stations,
over 10 small boats are there. They are gathering the debris and
fragments, and we have found some bodies as well. We are continuing
our search. The sea is choppy, about force one, and a storm is
increasing. The current is flowing towards Sochi.”
The TV said that Armavia, the Armenian air carrier, which was set
up in 1996, owns three A320, a Yak-42, an An-24 and rents two Tu-154
aircraft. The airline has more than 500 staff, and the main office is
in Zvartnots international airport. Russia TV’s correspondent reported
from Yerevan on the phone to say that the airline has cancelled
half of its flights for today and the managers are at the airport,
leaving for Sochi at 0800 hours to be at the scene.
Relatives of the passengers are arriving at the airline office,
he added.
The presenter said that the crashed liner was made in 1995, and up
to 2002 it was used in Australia and then refitted in France to join
the Armenian airline fleet. It is not known when the aircraft was
last serviced, Russia TV said. It then recalled all previous crashes
involving this type of an aircraft.
NTV also started with the crash story at 0300 gmt. It quoted an earlier
Interfax report about 11 bodies found on the scene. It said that oil
spills and rescue vests can be seen on the scene. It is though that
technical faults have developed on board, the TV report said, adding
that the pilots tried several times to land the plane and that the
plane entered water at an angle of 60 degrees. The television carried
a telephone report of its correspondent from Sochi about the rescue
operation currently under way. The report said the early theory about
the cause of the crash is bad weather near Sochi.
The correspondent said that it was raining heavily in Sochi even at
the time of report.
The television said that another two boats from Novorossiysk and
Tuapse were on their way to the scene, with divers on board. It said
the debris sank to the depth of 300 m. An Il-76 was about to fly out
from Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow, with rescue equipment on board,
the television said, adding that another two amphibious planes were
joining the rescuers from there as well.
Channel One TV also led with the crash story at 0300 gmt. It showed
the first footage from Sochi which featured a rescue ship in the
port of Sochi just back from the scene. Correspondents interviewed
the rescuers who said the accident happened at about 4 km away from
the shore. The report also showed footage of Adler airport where
relatives of the crash victims were gathering. The TV also recalled
the technical parameters of the aircraft. It can carry up to 150
people for 5,000 km, its length is 37.5 m and the width is 34 m.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress