Ratification of Rome Statute to bolster Armenia's security – Pashinyan

Yerevan's decision to start the Rome Statute ratification procedure was made before the International Criminal Court (ICC) judgement against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"After September 2020, when it became clear that certain systems were not working, we started looking for opportunities that would contribute to improving our security. This is what the Rome Statute became for us," he said, according to Lenta.ru.

Pashinyan also dispelled fears that Russia would close its market for Armenian producers. This is how he commented on the information about problems with the supply of Armenian cognac to Russia.

"Where did the assumption come from that Russia is closing, has closed or will close its market for us? We are part of the Eurasian Economic Union and our economic relations are regulated," Pashinyan said in an interview with the country's public television.

According to him, over the past 20-30 years, such a problem with the import of cognac has arisen "hundreds of times". "I, for example, tried to understand the case, what happened and what is happening, and we also received assurances that there is no political context," the Armenian prime minister assured while calling on local producers to "seriously monitor the quality" of their products.

On October 3, the country's Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said there were problems with deliveries to Russia due to quality checks of Armenian cognac at the border. He said that Armenian cargoes were idle at the Upper Lars checkpoint. A couple of days later, the minister clarified that there was no political context in the inspections and urged not to "exaggerate" the problem.