YEREVAN, August 8. /TASS/. Armenia’s possible ratification of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Rome Statute will run counter to Russia’s interests and will widen the divide between Yerevan and Moscow, Artak Zakaryan, Armenia’s former deputy defense minister and former leader of the parliamentary commission on foreign ties, told TASS.

"Following Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute, problems between Armenia and Russia will become more difficult, since having signed it, Armenia will have to implement a number of obligations under ICC resolutions. This will have a West-imposed political significance and will run counter to Russia’s interests. This will also give birth to very complicated political, diplomatic, and public relations. Therefore, rushing to please the West and taking on excessive commitments will entail problems with Russia," he said.

According to the expert, once Armenia ratifies this statute, the West "will compel Armenia to plunge into various processes and make decisions against Russia’s interests, as happened previously with other countries."

"To join any international agreement, it is necessary to consider its necessity or expediency first," said another expert, Ara Zograbyan, who once headed Armenia’s Union of Attorneys. "The ratification of the Rome Statute now that Russia, Armenia’s strategic partner, is under Western sanctions and an arrest warrant has been issued for the Russian president, means only one thing - that this is aimed against Russia." In his words, this will pose problems in case the Russian president decides to visit Armenia.

Armenian Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan said in June that his country’s government planned to submit to the parliament a bill on the ratification of the ICC Rome Statute. Before that, in March, Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the Rome Statute did not contradict the constitution of the country, which provoked a negative reaction in Russia. The Armenian side said that the ratification of the document would make it possible for Armenia to draw the ICC’s attention to Azerbaijan’s responsibility for crimes which Yerevan accused Azerbaijani soldiers of committing. It stressed that this move is not aimed against Russia.

Later, a source in the Russian foreign ministry told TASS that the Russian side had warned Armenia about the negative impact its possible ratification of the Rome Statute would have on bilateral relations. According to the ministry, Moscow slammed Yerevan’s plans to join the Rome Statute in a situation when the Court had issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader as unacceptable. Meanwhile, deputy speaker of Armenia’s parliament, Akop Arshakyan, promised that Yerevan’s further actions linked with the Rome Statute’s ratification would not harm Armenian-Russian strategic relations.

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.