Armenian parliament ratifies Rome Statute

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – The Armenian parliament ratified the Rome Statute on Tuesday, bringing it under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, sending a negative signal to its ally Russia.

Armenian parliament or National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan announced that 60 lawmakers voted in favor of joining the international mechanism and 20 voted against it.

"60 deputies voted in favor of ratification, 20 opposed. The decision has been made," Simonyan said at the parliamentary session, which was broadcast live on many news channels.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Moscow has denied the accusation.

Armenia decided to join the ICC in March, eliciting a negative reaction from Russia.

Moscow called Yerevan's intentions "absolutely unacceptable," taking into account the ICC arrest warrant against President Putin.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Armenia, a Moscow ally, had been warned "about the extremely negative" consequences of such a move on bilateral relations.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted in 1998 in Italy's capital, is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. Over 12 states are currently parties to the statute.