Armenia's plans to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are seen to be absolutely unacceptable, "TASS" has reported with reference to sources in Russia's Foreign Ministry.
"Russia considers Armenia's plan to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) totally unacceptable against the background of the ICC's recent illegal and groundless 'warrants' against the President of Russia," - the statement says.
Russia has warned Armenia that it will face "extremely negative" consequences in bilateral relations if it joins the Rome Statute.
On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of war crimes in Ukraine. If Yerevan ratifies the Rome Statute, then the country's authorities will have to arrest Putin if he visits Armenia.
On March 24, the Constitutional Court of Armenia announced its decision that the Rome Statute does not contradict the basic law of the country. The Armenian government can now submit the Rome Statute to the parliament for ratification.
Armenia applied to the Constitutional Court to recognize the Rome Statute at the end of 2022 in order to hold Azerbaijan responsible for "crimes" committed during the bilateral conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The statute was signed in 1998, but Armenia has not yet ratified it, because in 2004 the Constitutional Court recognized the obligations of the treaty as contrary to a number of provisions of the country's constitution in force at that time.
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