MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Yerevan ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) goes against the will of the people of the Russian Federation and Armenia to develop relations between the two countries, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.

"Yerevan has ratified the Rome Statute. <…> The development of relations between our countries is the choice of our peoples, of the Russian Federation and Armenia. The ratification of the Rome Statute contradicts this," Volodin noted.

According to him, Yerevan’s decision is "not thought through" and "strategically incorrect." It "will above all create problems for Armenia and its citizens," Volodin asserted. "Any decision or anything else can be explained away but those who made it first need to answer, why?" Volodin said.

Earlier, the Armenian Parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Some 60 legislators supported the decision while 20 voted against it. The two opposition factions, Armenia and I Have Honor, that boycotted discussing the issue returned to vote against it. They noted that ratifying this document has nothing to do with Armenia’s interests and is a purely geopolitical move.

The Russian Foreign Ministry previously told TASS that Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute would take a heavy toll on bilateral relations. The diplomatic agency stressed that the premise promoted by Armenian authorities that joining the ICC will not affect Russian-Armenian ties in any way is out of touch with reality and Yerevan had not taken into account Moscow’s response proposals on the statute.

The Rome Statute

The Rome Statute is an international treaty that established the International Criminal Court. It is also its Charter. The document was adopted at the diplomatic conference in Rome on July 17, 1998 and went into effect on July 1, 2002. It outlines the functions, jurisdiction and structure of the court (which is not part of the UN).

The ICC prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and acts of aggression. The amendment on crimes of aggression was passed in December 2017. The ICC exercises jurisdiction only over crimes committed after July 1, 2002 on the territory of a state party and nationals of state parties on the territory of any other country. If a crime is committed in a state that is not a party to the Statute or its nationals are suspected of grave crimes, the UN Security Council can issue a mandate to launch a criminal investigation.

States that are not parties to the ICC and seek to investigate crimes committed on their soil can issue a special statement to recognize the court’s jurisdiction over a crime. The UN Security Council can suspend the court’s work and any arrest warrants it issues. The ICC has jurisdiction only over individuals. The court can sentence a person to 30 years or even life in prison, but is prohibited from imposing the death penalty.