Published February 01,2024
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The Kremlin mentioned Thursday it hoped Armenia becoming a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) wouldn’t have an effect on relations after warning the Caucasus nation for months in opposition to the transfer.
Armenia — which has distanced itself from its historic ally Russia in latest months — formally joined The Hague-based court docket Thursday.
It is now obliged to arrest President Vladimir Putin if he units foot on Armenian territory after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian chief in March 2023.
“It is important for us for such decisions not to negatively affect — de jure and de facto — our bilateral relations, which we value and which we want to develop further,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned.
He mentioned Armenia’s choice to hitch the ICC was its “sovereign right”.
The Kremlin had earlier warned Armenia that becoming a member of the court docket can be the “wrong decision”.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sought to painting becoming a member of the court docket as a transfer in opposition to Yerevan’s foe Azerbaijan, not Russia.
But he has, in latest months, made important feedback about Russia’s function within the Caucasus.
Yerevan has grown offended with Moscow over its function in mediating the Karabakh battle, believing that Russia’s peacekeeping mission didn’t act to cease Azerbaijan’s offensive in September final yr.
Azerbaijan retook management of the Nagorno-Karabakh area in a lightning navy operation after three a long time of Armenian separatist management.
But Moscow insisted Thursday that Yerevan’s safety nonetheless is dependent upon a Russian-led safety bloc.
Armenia hosts a everlasting Russian navy base and is a part of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a navy alliance that consists of a number of ex-Soviet states.
The Russian overseas ministry’s CSTO consultant, Viktor Vasilyev, advised news businesses that “the security of Armenia, including in the military-technical sphere, is not possible without cooperation within the CSTO.”
Source: www.anews.com.tr