Armenia ratifies statute to accept International Criminal Court jurisdiction
World
Armenia ratifies statute to accept International Criminal Court jurisdiction
(Reuters) - Armenia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the founding statute of the International Criminal Court, subjecting itself to the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague, in a move certain to irritate its ally Russia.
A spokeswoman for parliament said 60 deputies had voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and to adopt a statement on retroactive recognition of ICC jurisdiction, and 22 had voted against it.
Russian-Armenian ties have been badly strained by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow's inaction as Armenia's neighbour Azerbaijan recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh, a region controlled for three decades by ethnic Armenians, most of whom have now fled.
Joining the ICC means Armenia will be obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he sets foot there because the court has issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of illegally deporting hundreds or more children from Ukraine - a claim dismissed by the Kremlin as meaningless.
Armenia says it has been discussing its plans with Russia after Moscow warned it in March of "serious consequences" if it submitted to ICC jurisdiction.
Yerevan has said the move was always intended to address what it says are war crimes committed by Azerbaijan in a long-running conflict with Armenia, and is not aimed at Russia.
Moscow has nevertheless voiced increasing frustration with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has publicly said Armenia's policy of solely relying on Russia to guarantee its security was a mistake, and pointedly hosted joint maneuvers with U.S. forces.
