On Tuesday, the Russian government criticized Armenia’s parliament for voting to join the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest order for Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia.
“We are doubtful that from the point of view of bilateral relations, Armenia’s accession to the Rome Statute is correct. We still believe that it is the wrong decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
It was anticipated that Armenia’s lawmakers’ approval of a crucial step toward joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) would increase hostilities with Moscow, a longtime friend of the former Soviet nation.
After the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March for the war in Ukraine and the forcible deportation of children to Russia, Russia had warned Armenia against voting to ratify the ICC’s founding treaty.
If the Russian president enters their country, ICC participants are anticipated to conduct the arrest.
The vote demonstrated a widening gulf between Moscow and Yerevan, which has become unhappy with Moscow over what it sees as its passivity on Armenia’s protracted conflict with Azerbaijan.
Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, has said that his nation will look for alliances elsewhere.
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a security alliance commanded by Moscow, is the only option available to Armenia, the Kremlin reiterated on Tuesday.
“I think that most people in Armenia realise that the CSTO instruments are absolutely irreplaceable,” Peskov said. “The Armenian side has nothing better than these mechanisms, we are sure of that.”
