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No agreement with Armenia due to circumvent Rome Statute, says Russian senator

"If we wish to continue to live in peace, remain good neighbors, and provide each other with assistance and mutual support, I think that our Armenian colleagues should sooner or later revoke their decision to join the Rome Statute," Vladimir Dzhabarov said

MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. Russia will not conclude an agreement with Armenia regarding the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee Vladimir Dzhabarov has said in the wake of the Armenian authorities' proposal for signing an interstate agreement that would allow for circumventing the requirements of the Rome Statute.

"I think there will be no additional agreement between Russia and Armenia regarding the ICC. We do not recognize this structure at all. Why should we discuss any new agreement on this issue?" he said on the Soloviev Live TV channel.

"If we wish to continue to live in peace, remain good neighbors, and provide each other with assistance and mutual support, I think that our Armenian colleagues should sooner or later revoke their decision to join the Rome Statute," Jabarov added.

The Armenian parliament on October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC. Sixty legislators supported this decision, while 20 opposed it. The opposition factions Armenia and I Have Honor, which boycotted the discussion of the issue, returned to the session hall and voted against it. They said that the adoption of the document had nothing to do with Armenia's interests and pursued geopolitical aims.

Moscow called Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute an absolutely unfriendly step. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that the ICC, which issued arrest warrants for representatives of Russia's top leadership some time ago, had nothing to do with justice, being a politicized pro-Western organization that obeyed orders to persecute persons undesirable to the West. Galuzin emphasized that these warrants were "absolutely legally null and void."

In turn, Pashinyan said that Yerevan was not changing its foreign policy bearings. He argued that the process of the ratification of the Rome Statute was in no way directed against Russia and had been launched before the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He claimed that the Rome Statute envisaged an opportunity for countries to regulate relations on a bilateral basis.