New crisis between Russia and Armenia

As Armenia prepared to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted to the move in question by calling it an “extremely hostile decision.”

The competent committee of the Parliament of Armenia gave a positive opinion on the ratification of the Rome Statute, the founding agreement of the ICC, and offered Russia to sign a bilateral agreement for the implementation of the statute.

Speaking to reporters on the issue, Peskov stated that Armenia “knows well” that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute. Noting that Armenia is aware of the decision made by the ICC to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said: “This is an extremely hostile decision towards us. “It’s not a situation we can condone,” he said.

While relations between Russia and Armenia have become strained lately, the Russian Foreign Ministry recently issued a note to Armenia alleging that it has adopted “unfriendly” measures. (AA)