MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) demands that Russia seek a viable diplomatic solution, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Our contacts [with Yerevan] continue at various levels and some serious conversations on this topic await us. We need to look for some kind of diplomatic solution in this regard," Peskov said in commenting on the situation.

He added that the legal nuances of the issue would have to be looked into, reiterating that Russia saw the Hague-based ICC’s arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova as "absolutely unlawful and void."

"We will have to look into whether some acts may take precedence over international law in Armenia - since now this is in fact the international legal situation for Armenia - or whether they cannot provide special conditions for exceptions," Peskov said.

Earlier, the Kremlin spokesman said that Moscow did not welcome Yerevan's plans to join the Rome Statute. According to Peskov, this decision by the Armenian authorities was an "extremely hostile" move with respect to Russia.

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.