Kremlin regrets Putin will now have to give up travelling to Armenia

Following Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute, the Kremlin has said it does not want Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to have to give up visiting an allied country.

Source: Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov on 3 October

Quote from Peskov: "Of course we would not like the president to have to cancel his visits to Armenia for any reason.

Of course we have a lot in common with the brotherly Armenian people. We have no doubt that it will unite us forever."

Details: Peskov said that Armenia's decision to ratify the Rome Statute was "incorrect".

Quote from Peskov: "There will be additional questions for the current leadership of Armenia; they were conveyed to the Armenian side in advance. We doubt, and have doubted from the very beginning, that Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is correct from the point of view of bilateral relations. We still believe that this is an incorrect decision."

Previously: The National Assembly of Armenia has passed a law ratifying the Rome Statute, the founding document of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Armenia's decisions regarding the Rome Statute as "extremely hostile". At the same time, he said that the Armenian side had offered to conclude a bilateral agreement with Russia regarding the Rome Statute.

Background: Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1998, but did not ratify it. The Constitutional Court of Armenia ruled in March 2023 that the Rome Statute aligns with the country's constitution.

A parliamentary committee gave a positive opinion on the ratification of the statute, and it was submitted to the plenary session at the end of September.

Yerevan has stressed the need to ratify the Statute and recognise its jurisdiction, emphasising that the risk of further military aggression against Armenia by Azerbaijan remains high, and that after ratification, Baku's war crimes will fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

As for Russia's concerns, Armenia's representative for international legal issues, Yeghisheh Kirakosyan, recently clarified that there is no question of Putin being arrested upon entering Armenia after the ratification of the Rome Statute, as current heads of state are granted immunity.

States that have ratified the Rome Statute are obliged to arrest Vladimir Putin in the event of his arrival in their territory under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

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