Despite stern warnings from the Russian leadership, the Armenian parliament ratified on October 3 the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC) known as the Rome Statute. The move initiated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and condemned by Moscow added to unprecedented tensions between the two states.
Russian officials said it will cause serious damage to Russian-Armenian relations. They dismissed Yerevan’s assurances that the ratification does not commit it to arresting Putin and handing him over to the ICC in the event of his visit to Armenia.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on October 9 that Moscow presented the Armenian government with “certain proposals” on the issue. He suggested that Yerevan is “either still thinking about them or has decided to reject them.”
In a statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Yerevan has responded to those proposals. But it did not disclose them.
“In the context of proposals conveyed by the Russian side regarding the process of ratification of the Rome Statute by Armenia, the Armenian side came up with a proposal to conclude a corresponding bilateral agreement which can dispel the concerns of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said, adding that it has not received an “official written response” from Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed on October 3 the proposed bilateral treaty related to the ICC. He said it is not clear how Yerevan can “put in place special conditions, exceptions.”
For his part, Putin said on October 13 that the ratification of the ICC treaty will not stop him from visiting Armenia again in the future and that he and Pashinian “remain in touch.” The tensions between the two longtime allies have not eased since then.
