RF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS SERVICE: SEARCH OPERATIONS WHERE A320 CRASHED HELD IN TWO DIRECTIONS
Moscow, May 4. ArmInfo-RBC. Search operations in the area of the crash
in the Black Sea will be in two directions: at the spot and in the
bottom, Andrey Legoshin, Deputy Head of Russian ESS Operative Office,
told journalists.
A special a deep-sea robot was to be used to try to recover the
plane’s recorders, after the fuselage is found. The search operations
are coordinated by helicopters. Search and rescue teams had pulled
48 bodies from the water, 20 bodies were identified, including
a stewardess.
To recap, the wrecked Airbus A- 320 was carrying out U 8967 fight
Yerevan-Sochi. French specialists of Airbus Industry concern also
arrived in the place. Besides, the sonar system and deep-sea devices
were assembled. Investigation group of RF Prosecutor General’s Office
(PGO) headed by Vladimir Lisenko, Head of the RF PGP Department for
Investigation of Special Cases, is in the place of the crash. Besides,
arriving in the disaster place were Deputy Prosecutor General of RF
Nikolay Shepel, Krasnodar Regional Prosecutor Sergey Yeremin, and
other officials of the region. Preliminary data say that all the
133 passengers and the crew of Airbus A320 that crashed into the
Black Sea were killed. Among them were 26 citizens of Russia, one
citizen of Ukriane. Krasnodar Regional Prosecutor’s Office initiated
a criminal case on the Article 263.3 of RF Criminal Code (violation
of safe transportation and air transport exploitation rules resulting
in death of two and more people).
From: Baghdasarian

FRENCH FM CONDOLES WITH RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF KILLED IN PLANE CRASH
Yerevan, May 4. ArmInfo. Foreign Minister of France Philippe
Douste-Blazy conveyes his deep condolence to the relatives and friends
of the killed in the crash of Airbus A320 flying from Yerevan to
Sochi on May 3 night, French Embassy to Armenia told ArmInfo.
In his message, the minister offered his support to the authorities
of Russia and Armenia.

RUSSIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE TAKES OVER THE CRIMINAL CASE ON CRASH OF ARMAVIA COMPANY AIRBUS
Yerevan, May 4. ArmInfo. The Special Investigation Department of
Russian Prosecutor Geeral’s Office took over the criminal case on
the crash of Airbus A320 of belonging to Armavia company near Sochi,
Official Representative of the department, Natalya Vishnyakova told
Interfax. 20 of 48 found bodies have been identified, several bodies
are already being transferred to relatives. Rescue operations at
the spot of the crash were resumed early in the morning on May 4,
N. Vishnyakova said.
RTR reports that three of the identified bodies of Armenian citizens
were not in the passenger list of Airbus A-320. 113 were killed in
the crash.

THE FIRST FLIGHT TRANSPORTING IDENTIFIED BODIES OF THE KILLED IN PLANE CRASH TO YEREVAN IS SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT
Yerevan, May 4. ArmInfo. The first identified bodies of the killed in
the plane crashed near Sochi will be transported to Armenia tonight,
Press Secretary of Armenian Rescue Service Nikolay Grigoryan told
ArmInfo.
47 bodies were found as of the midday Yerevan time. The bodies
and body fragments can be identified. 20 bodies have already been
identified. However, no list of the identified bodies has been
published yet. A group of Armenian rescuers (10 people) arrived on
the spot yesterday, they are participating in the general search and
rescue operations, N. Grigoryan said.

ARMENIAN AND RUSSIAN PARTIES DID NOT APPLY TO GEORGIAN AIR NAVIGATION FOR ASSISTANCE
Tbilisi, May 4. ArmInfo-BSP. Either the Armenian or the Russian
parties had applied to the Georgian Air Navigation for the records
of the last talks of Georgian flying control officers and the crew
of the Armenian wrecked plane till the last moment, Novosti-Georgia
reports. Armenian Airbus A-320 belonging to Armavia company flying
from Yerevan to Sochi crashed into the Black Sea on May 3 near Sochi.
Georgy Karbelashvili, Head of Georgian Air Navigation, told journalists
those records could become an important evidence in the investigation
of the crash. Karbelashvili said he had already offered assistance
to the Armenian Ambassador to Georgia. He said the records show that
A-320 had been in the airspace of Georgia for about an hour, then
almost reaching the border with Russia the plane had to turn back
because of the bad weather. However, not reaching Kutaisi, the plane
again took the former course as the Russian flying control officer
informed the crew about the improving weather in Sochi. Karbelashvili
refutes the report that allegedly the crew was proposed to land in
Tbilisi airport. He said that under international navigation rules,
a crew is informed of all the possible airports for emergency landing
before the flight. In the given case, those were the airports in
Russia and Yerevan. The last words of the Armenian pilot to Georgian
flying control officers were: “Thank you, see you on the way back!” The
Airbus disappeared from the Georgian monitors at 2:05 AM Tbilisi time
and crashed into the sea in about 10 minutes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

AHMADINEJAD CONDOLES WITH ARMENIAN PRESIDENT ON PLANE CRASH
Yerevan, May 4. ArmInfo. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a message
to his Armenian counterpart on Wednesday expressed his condolences
over an Armenian plane crash in which all on board were killed,
the Iranian Embassy in Armenia reports.
According to a report of Presidential Office Media Department, the
president in his message to President Robert Kocharian asked for God’s
mercy and blessing for victims and patience for the bereaved families.

RAMKAVAR-AZATAKAN PARTY PRESENTS ITS CONDOLENCES TO RELATIVES OF VICTIMS OF AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Central Board
of the Ramkavar-Azatakan Party of Armenia presents its condolences
to the relatives of the victims of the accident of Yerevan-Sochi
A-320 plane, to RA President Robert Kocharian, to state officials,
to Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II.
This was mentioned in the report provided to Noyan Tapan from the
party’s Central Board.

VAHAGN MELIKIAN TO BE REPLACED BY ARMEN GICHIAN ON POST OF HEAD OF STATE PROTOCOL SERVICE OF RA FM
Noyan Tapan
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. Under the decision of RA Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian, Vahagn Melikian was relieved of the post of
Head of the State Protocol Service agency of RA Foreign Ministry. As
Noyan Tapan was informed from RA government’s Information and Public
Relations Department, under another decision of the Prime Minister,
Armen Gichian was appointed Head of the State Protocol Service agency
of RA Foreign Ministry.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

GEORGIA TO GIVE ARMENIA RECORDING OF CONVERSATIONS WITH CREW OF CRASHED PLANE
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 04 2006
TBILISI, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. On May 4, the
Georgaeronavigation company will give the Armenian side the recording
of the conversation between the crew of the Armenian plane crashed in
the Black Sea and Georgian flying control officers. Company Director
Georgi Karbelashvili reported this to radio Liberty. “In essence,
the Georgian flying control officers have the whole recording of
the plane’s flight with the exception of the last 5-10 minutes when
the plane disappeared from the radars’ screens. But until 4:00 pm
by Yerevan’s time no one had applied to the Georgian side with the
request to get this recording,” the company director said. “We did
not publicize any information. But when the Russian media started to
give some information, we got in touch with the Armenian Ambassador
to Georgia, Armenian Deputy of Georgian Parliament Van Bayburd,
convened a press conference. We are guided by international laws
and rules. According to them, all countries that take part in the
implementation of the flight give the information they have. The
Russian side cannot carry on an investigation without Georgia and
Armenia,” Karbelashvili emphasized. The company director was especially
surprised at the circumstance that Russia has formed an investigation
group but has not taken any step in the direction of receiving this
important imformation from the Georgian side. “We do not say who is to
blame. It is not our business. We only say that we have an important
information: the recording of 90% of the flight that can be useful
for finding out the reasons of the crash,” Karbelashvili declared.
“If you listen to the recording, the flying control officers of Rostov
make very unpleasant expressions there, but now I do not want to speak
about it, let your ambassador decide whether it is worth publishing
them,” Georgi Karbelashvili said without going into the details of
what he meant.

UKRAINE HAS CHOSEN EUROPEAN WAY, AMBASSADOR BOZHKO DECLARES
Noyan Tapan
May 04 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 4, NOYAN TAPAN. “We want to become a normal country
and to build a normal open society,” Ambassador of the Ukraine to
Armenia Olexander Bozhko declared at the May 4 meeting at the National
Press Club. As for improvement in the sence of democratization in the
Ukraine after the “orange revolution”, according to the Ambassador,
the results of the revolution cannot appear at once. Meanwhile, he
mentioned that the most significant showing of improvement in the
sphere of development of democratic processes in the Ukraine were the
normal parliamentary elections held in March. “The last elections in
the Ukraine showed that the majority of the population that supported
Yushchenko in their time, did not change their initial decision. The
results of the elections in the Ukraine is the demonstration of the
European way chosen by our country,” Olexander Bozhko declared. In
response to Noyan Tapan correspondent’s question, whether the “colored
revolutions” in the post-Soviet area are accidental or they can be
considered as a regularity, the Ambassador said that the Ukrainian
“orange revolution” was conditioned by the readiness of the society
for changes. According to him, it was impossible to gather for the
money of Soros the 1.5 or 2 million people that took to the streets
of Kiev. Such a splash was the result of processes that took place in
the public consciousness: “The orange revolution first of all took
place in the thinking of the people,” Olexander Bozhko declared. As
for the possible membership to NATO in the coming years, the Ukrainian
Ambassador declared that nothing can be excluded. He mentioned that
the Ukraine is striving for not only economic but also for military
cooperation with Europe.