The Armenian parliament ratified Tuesday the founding statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), subjecting itself to the jurisdiction of the court docket in The Hague.
A spokeswoman for parliament mentioned 60 deputies had voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and to undertake a press release on retroactive recognition of ICC jurisdiction, and 22 had voted towards it.
The resolution had been strongly opposed by Yerevan’s formal ally Russia, with which ties have turn out to be badly strained over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and Azerbaijan’s counterterror operations and recapture of the Nagorno-Karabakh area, as soon as occupied by Armenian separatists.
Joining the ICC means Armenia will probably be obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he units foot there as a result of the court docket has issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of illegally deporting a whole bunch or extra kids from Ukraine – a declare 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 mentioned the transfer was supposed to deal with points associated to its long-running battle with Azerbaijan and isn’t aimed toward Russia.
“We are creating additional guarantees for Armenia,” Representative of Armenia on International Legal Matters Yeghishe Kirakosyan advised lawmakers.
Moscow has however voiced growing frustration with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has publicly mentioned Armenia’s coverage of solely counting on Russia to ensure its safety was a mistake, and pointedly hosted joint maneuvers with U.S. forces.
Opposition events, which management 36 seats in Armenia’s 107-seat legislature protested the transfer and their MPs walked out from the plenary session.
Source: www.dailysabah.com