MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Moscow rejects Yerevan's accusations that the bilateral partnership and the mechanisms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are allegedly insufficient to protect Armenia, this does not correspond to reality, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We absolutely disagree with the words of Armenian Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan that Armenia's decision to join the Rome Statute was due to the 'insufficiency' of the instruments of the CSTO and the Armenian-Russian partnership to ensure the country's security. This is not true. And I think that most Armenians still understand that the CSTO and the Armenian-Russian partnership instruments are absolutely indispensable at the moment," he said.
The Kremlin agrees that the Armenian side can raise issues for discussion and criticize. "But the Armenian side has nothing better than these mechanisms. We are sure of that. And we understand very well that most Armenians also realize this," Peskov added.
Today, the Armenian parliament voted in favor of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS that Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute would have the most negative consequences for bilateral relations.
Earlier, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on charges of "illegal deportation" of Ukrainian children. Moscow rejected such accusations, calling "the very phrasing of the question" outrageous and pointing out that Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, so its decisions are null and void for Russia.