Russia expects explanation from Armenia on further relations after joining ICC

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia expects to receive clarification on relations with Armenia after the latter's accession to the Rome Statute, bringing it under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Court of Justice does not have the best effect on bilateral relations, forcing Yerevan to make a choice between Western-dictated obligations under the ICC on the one hand, and political dialogue with Russia, and interaction within the framework of Eurasian integration on the other," she said, responding to a question by Anadolu at a press briefing in Moscow.

"We plan and expect to receive appropriate assurances from our Armenian partners on a bilateral basis," she said.

During an interview with The Telegraph aired on Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan neither confirmed nor denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested should he visit Armenia.

“There are various opinions and legal analyses on that topic, and in particular, the lawyers who say that the current heads of state have immunity, insurmountable immunity, due to their status are not just a few. I mean, it's a legal issue, not a political issue that I have to discuss and respond to,” he said.

Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute on Feb. 1 drew criticism from Russia due to the court’s arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, presidential commissioner for children's rights, accusing them of the “war crime of unlawful deportation of children” from Ukraine to Russia, which Moscow denies.

The Rome Statute of the ICC, adopted in 1998 in the Italian capital, is the treaty that established the international tribunal seated in The Hague.

Turning to the results of the Feb. 11 presidential election in Finland, Zakharova said Russia does not have "any special expectations."

"Due to Finland's confrontational course towards our country, our relations have been damaged beyond repair. Due to the fault of the Finnish side, the potential of mutually beneficial cooperation that has been developed for decades has been destroyed. We hear Russophobic statements from Helsinki, and haven't heard anything else from there," she said.

According to the spokeswoman's assessment, the presidential candidates in Finland "competed in the level of anti-Russian rhetoric."

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won Finland’s election runoff against ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a close race.