ANOTHER PLANE OF EMERGENCIES MIN LEAVES FOR SITE OF A-320 CRASH
ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 3 2006
MOSCOW, May 3 (Itar-Tass) – Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Yak-42
plane with psychologists and the commission of investigators from the
prosecutor-general’s office has left for Sochi, where an A-320 plane of
Armenia’s Armavia air carrier crashed in the small hours of Wednesday.
The plane will also deliver side-looking sonar system C-3000, which
allows to detect submerged objects at the distance up to three
kilometers.
The wreck of the A-320 plane was found on the seabed at a depth of
500-600 meters, the deputy director of the Emergencies Ministry’s
on-line control department, Andrei Legoshin, said.
“At such depths divers will be unable to work and special equipment –
minisubmarines and robots – are necessary,” he said.
Soon after the crash, a group of the Emergencies Ministry’s rescuers,
including divers, left for the site of the accident.

500 RESCUERS JOIN RECOVERY EFFORTS AFTER BLACK SEA PLANE CRASH
RIA Novosti, Russia
May 3 2006
MOSCOW, May 3 (RIA Novosti) – About 500 rescuers have joined an
operation to recover bodies from the Black Sea after an Armenian
airliner crashed near the Russian coast early on Wednesday, emergency
services said.
A total of 113 passengers and crew were killed when an Airbus A-320
belonging to Armenia’s Armavia Airlines flying from the capital,
Yerevan, crashed about six kilometers from the coast en route to an
airport in Adler, which services the resort of Sochi.
Yevgeny Serebryakov, a deputy minister of the Russian Emergency
Situations Ministry, said, “The rescue operation is continuing despite
poor weather.”
The ministry reported earlier that it had recovered 25 bodies.
Serebryakov added that the ministry also sent a group of psychologists
to support passengers’ relatives who had gathered at the airport
in Adler.
The recovery operation involves about 20 boats and a Be-200 amphibious
aircraft, the ministry said earlier, adding that two more Be-200s
would fly to the scene if necessary.

TRIAL OF AZERBAIJANI ARMY OFFICER RAMIL SAFAROV TAKES PLACE TODAY
Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
May 3 2006
Trial on claim raised by jailers against Azerbaijani Army Officer
Ramil Safarov who is accused of murder of Armenian officer Gurgen
Markaryan in Hungary, has taken place today.
Azerbaijani embassy in Hungary told APA that witnesses gave testimony
on in the trial presided by Judge Tot Dyendver. The trial is
continuing now.
No decision is expected to be made in the trial.
Azerbaijani embassy representatives and students attend the trial.
Ramil safarov’s lawyer is Hungarian Klara Fiser.
Jailers demanded Ramil Safarov to give the phone card on June 19,
2004. Safarov don’t know Hungarian language and he therefore didn’t
understand the jailers and this misunderstanding caused incident
among them. 8 police tied Safarov’s arms and exercised force.
safarov’s lawyers appealed to the court but the court didn’t meet
the appeal through lack of evidences. Then the jailers appealed to
the court claiming Safarov put up resistance to jailers.
Safarov’s lawyer Adil Ismayilov told APA that Defense Ministry assumed
all expenditures for defense of Safarov.

SYRIA CONDOLES ARMENIA OVER PLANE CRASH
SANA – Syrian Arab News Agency, Syria
May 3 2006
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad sent on Wednesday a
cable of condolences to his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian
over crash of an Armenian airplane and the killing of all passengers.
” On behalf of the Syrian people and me I express to you and to the
Armenian friendly people my heartfelt condolences wishing God would
avert the friendly people of Armenian ay trouble,’ the President said
in his cable. An Armenian passenger plane crashed in stormy weather
Wednesday off Russia’s Black sea coast while readying to land,
killing all 113 people on board most of them Armenians.

MEDIATORS TO TABLE NEW GARABAGH PROPOSALS
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 3 2006
Baku, May 2, AssA-Irada
The OSCE mediators brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan
Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict started their talks in Moscow on
Tuesday. The course of peace talks and the date for the intermediaries’
next visit to the region is being considered.
The Minsk Group co-chairs from Russia, France and the United States,
who will further pay separate visits to the region, are expected to
discuss new proposals on the conflict resolution. The discussions
follow the latest unsuccessful round of talks between the two
countries’ leaders in Rambouillet, France in February.
“The Moscow meeting is underway behind closed doors and no
representatives of the two sides are represented in the talks.
Official Baku will be informed of the details of the meeting during
the co-chairs’ next visit to the region,” the Azeri Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tahir Taghizada said.
The OSCE chairman’s special envoy Andzhei Kaspshik is attending the
discussions, according to the Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group Yuri Merzlyakov.

AZERI MP CRITICIZES MEDIATING OSCE GROUP
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
May 3 2006
Baku, May 2, AssA-Irada
An Azeri parliament member has questioned the credibility of the OSCE
Minsk Group (MG) brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
Shahlar Asgarov said there are ample grounds for this conclusion.
“Who can say that the MG co-chairs have put forth any goodwill
proposals so far?” he queried.
The MP said he had been closely following the activity of the group
and arrived at a conclusion that it was established not to facilitate,
but on the contrary, to impede the peace process.
“The co-chairing countries [Russia, France and the United States]
assist either party when its position weakens, which prolongs the
[Armenian] occupation. Our society should understand this clearly,”
Asgarov said.

ARMAVIA AIR COMPANY SETS UP COMMISSION FOR FINDING OUT CAUSES OF ITS AIRCRAFT CRASH NEAR SOCHI
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. Armavia Air Company is already set up a
commission for finding out causes of its aircraft crash near Sochi,
Russia. Armavia press service told ARKA News Agency that aircraft
A-320 with 913 on board plummeted into Black Sea Tuesday night while
en route from Yerevan to Sochi. It fell down when trying to land in
Adler airport.
Armavia’s official says the plane was denied landing because of bad
weather. The crew decided to land in Tbilisi, then they was told by
Adler airport flying control ground service that weather has already
improved. “The airplane headed to Sochi, but weather conditions there
remained bad. At the very moment of the second attempt to land,
the plane disappeared from radars screens”, the company’s press
service says.
Armavia spokesman said that the jet was in good technical condition.
Of 113 aboard 105 were passengers and 8 crew members. 6 children and
36 women were among the passengers.
Armenian Civil Aviation General Office set up a commission for
dealing with the accident. The commission made up of aviation and
flight security specialists has already flew to Sochi to take part
in the investigation launched by Russian side.
All the 113 on board are reportedly killed in the crash.
Sochi Prosecutor Office instigated a case into the accident on the
Russian Federation Penal Code count on violation of flight security
rules that resulted in human toll.
Armavia Air Company started functioning on December 12, 1996. Mikhail
Baghdasarov, MIKA Armenia Trading President, became the owner of 100%
shares of Armavia in June 2005.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

NKR MUST NOT BE PART OF AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIAN PM STATES
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) must not
be part of Azerbaijan, RA Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan stated
in his interview put on the web-site of the RA Government.
According to him, the position of the Republican Party of Armenia
(RPA) on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement has not changed.
“In conformity with this position, Nagorno Karabakh cannot be part of
Azerbaijan. The security of the NKR population must be guaranteed,
Armenia and the NKR must have a common border, the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict must not be settled at the expense of Armenia’s borders,
and the NKR must act as negotiator in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
process,” Speaking of the latest meeting between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents in Rambouillet on February 10-11, Margaryan
pointed out that the talks did not fail.
“Just no agreement on a number of settlement principles were reached,”
he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

BAGHDASARYAN PROPOSES TO SET UP GROUP FOR INVESTIGATING CAUSES OF ARMENIAN JET CRASH
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
YEREVAN, May 3. /ARKA/. Armenian National Assembly Speaker Arthur
Baghdasaryan proposed to set up a group to investigate causes of
Armenian A320 jet crash near Russian resort of Sochi.
He offered each parliamentary fraction to put up its nominee for
inclusion in the group.
Along with that, Baghdasaryan said the intergovernmental commission is
already set up and Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan traveled
to the site and has already reached the destination.
“Armenian National Assembly thinks it must compose its own group for
supporting families of those killed in the crash”, Baghdasaryan said.
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan set dates for official mourning.
Armenian National Assembly canceled its today’s session because
the crash.
Armavia Armenian Air Company’s aircraft with 113 on board plummeted
in the Black Sea on a flight from Yerevan to Sochi. None of those
aboard the plane has reported survived.

ALL PASSENGERS OF ARMAVIA AIRLINE INSURED IN CONFORMITY WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 3 2006
Yerevan, May 3. /ARKA/. All the passengers of the Armavia airline
were insured in conformity with international standards, the press
service of the airline reports.
The risks were re-insured at the international market. The amount
and order of payment of compensations will be determined after the
investigation, which is being conducted with the involvement of
independent experts appointed by the re-insurer companies.
The “Armavia” plans to report on the rules of compensation immediately
after the investigation.