President Serzh Sargsyan had to cut short his working visit to the Marzes of Lori and Shirak upon hearing the news of the crash of a Russian-made Caspian Airlines jet outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran.

Before returning to Yerevan, President Sargsyan p[lace flowers at the memorial monument in Spitak honoring Artsakh War dead and 1915 Genocide martyrs. In Spitak, Gyumri and Shirakamout, he visited a housing construction site for families left homeless by the earthquake and talked to neighborhood residents. In Shirakamout, President Sargsyan was welcomed in the home of the Vardevanyan's who have been living in a temporary hut for twenty years. President Sargsyan drank tea with the family and discussed the problems they faced. He said that large families like the Vardevanyan's need to be encouraged and promised that the government would do all it could to resolve the housing problem in the area, especially for destitute families. "Under this roof, four children are being reared. This is the biggest wealth of the country and the government must stand by them," President Sargsyan said and promised the family that he would be present when they received their new apartment.