Armenia votes to join International Criminal Court, further strains ties with old ally Russia

The Armenian parliament on Tuesday (Oct 3) voted to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that would strain the relations with its old ally Russia further. The Armenian lawmakers basically voted to ratify the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.

Notably, ICC has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over the Russia-Ukraine war and ICC members are expected to make the arrest if the Russian leader sets foot on their territory.

A broadcast of the parliament session showed 60 deputies voting in favour of the proposal with 22 mainly opposition lawmakers voting against joining the ICC.

Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan announced: "Sixty MPs voted for ratification and twenty others were against. The decision has been adopted."

The opposition and factions such as "Armenia" and "I Have The Honour" reportedly said that the document would not favour Armenia and has other geopolitical interests.

The opposition parties in Armenia had earlier slammed the move, calling out the government for endangering the country's ties with Russia. The opposition claimed that the decision would lead to serious consequences for Yerevan.

Amid escalating tensions, the Kremlin said on Tuesday that Armenia had no alternative to the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "I think that most people in Armenia realise that the CSTO instruments are absolutely irreplaceable. The Armenian side has nothing better than these mechanisms, we are sure of that."

Peskov told reporters: "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."

Watch:Russia looks away as Azerbaijan takes over Nagorno-Karabakh

A Russian Foreign Ministry official told Russian news agency TASS that Armenia's move to ratify the Rome Statute would have extremely negative implications for bilateral relations.

The vote illustrated a growing chasm between Moscow and Yerevan, which has grown angry with the Kremlin over its perceived inaction over Armenia's long-standing confrontation with Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani forces last month swept through the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh -- where Russian peacekeepers are deployed -- and secured the surrender of Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the mountainous region for decades.

(With inputs from agencies)

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