Armenian authorities have heard Russia’s fears over Yerevan’s plans to ratify the International Criminal Court agreement, said Hakob Arshakyan, deputy speaker of the Republic’s National Assembly. His remarks are quoted by “Armenpress”.
According to him, Yerevan is capable of conducting a policy that will not harm the strategic relations between Russia and Armenia.
Arshakyan said Armenia’s Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft law on ICC membership in December and in January requested a review by the Constitutional Court. Armenia is counting on the possibility of bringing Azerbaijan to justice with the help of the ICC, he said, mentioned last year.
According to him, at that time, the Armenian authorities could not know how events would unfold.
On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova “in the context of the situation in Ukraine”. The ICC says they are “allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children) of the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation”.
The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry ruled that the International Criminal Court’s decision was null and void, stressing that Moscow did not recognize its jurisdiction. Russia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but did not ratify it and withdrew its signature in 2016. Do not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, in addition to Russia, and other major countries – the States- United and China.
