Kremlin: Armenia’s decision to ratify Rome Statute - incorrect

Dmitry Peskov, the Russian presidential spokesperson, has stated that Moscow does not want President Vladimir Putin to decline to visit Armenia, a nation that is an ally, friendly country, and partner of Russia.

Peskov made the remarks during a briefing while commenting on the decision of the Armenian parliament to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Gazeta.Ru.

The Kremlin representative noted that the peoples of Armenia and Russia are united in many aspects and will always be united, however, at the same time, additional questions will arise for the Armenian leadership, which were sent to it in advance.

“We doubt and used to doubt at first that from the point of view of bilateral relations, Armenia’s accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC is correct. We think that this is an incorrect decision,” Peskov said.

He emphasised that the Kremlin does not agree with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that Armenia’s decision to join this statute is connected with the insufficiency of the tools of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO); this is not the case, and the majority of Armenian people understand that the organisation’s tools and the Armenian-Russian partnership are irreplaceable.