ARMENPRESS. Armenia has heard the concerns of the Russian Federation and will be able to ensure that the further process related to the Rome Statute does not harm the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia, Deputy President of the National Assembly told ARMENPRESS.
– Mr. Arshakyan, after the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia recorded in the decision published on March 24 that the Rome Statute corresponds to the Constitution of Armenia, both in Armenia and in Russia and in the international press, there was a great noise and it was presented that this was Armenia’s reaction to the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against the President of the Russian Federation. How will you comment?
– I think the best answer to the question is provided by the chronology. The Government of the Republic of Armenia approved the draft law of the Republic of Armenia “On Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court signed on July 17, 1998 and on the adoption of a statement on the retroactive recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in accordance with Article 12, Part 3 of the Statute” on December 29, 2022, during the public session of the Cabinet. The issue was reported live by Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan. It has been clearly recorded that this is Armenia’s reaction to the cases of Azerbaijan’s aggression against the sovereign territories of Armenia, in particular, to the acts of war committed by Azerbaijani servicemen during the September aggression.
The ratification of the Rome Statute will give Armenia the opportunity to raise the issue of responsibility for the gravest crimes committed by the servicemen of Azerbaijan in the International Criminal Court. Continuing the chronology, I would like to emphasize that the government presented the issue to the Constitutional Court on January 3, according to the established procedure. The International Criminal Court published the decision on the President of the Russian Federation on March 17. The Constitutional Court of Armenia published its decision on March 24 after a three-month discussion. Moreover, according to Armenian legislation, the Constitutional Court should make a decision within three months. That decision is exclusively legal and answers only one question: do the obligations stipulated by the Rome Statute correspond to the Constitution of Armenia? I mean, the decision of the Supreme Court does not recognize anyone as guilty in any matter, neither requires anyone to be arrested. And back in December 2022, the Armenian government of course could not have guessed or predicted the probability and content of concrete decisions by the International Criminal Court in March.
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– But the MP of the ruling faction announced that after the ratification of the Rome Statute, if the Russian president visits Armenia, he will be arrested.
– There were similar publications in the Russian press before the statement of the MP of the ruling faction. This does not mean that the Russian press expressed its wishes in those publications. I think the MP of our faction was impressed by the publications of the Russian press and social networks, for which I am sorry. Naturally, the ruling party and team have no such intention or desire.
– But the problem is that if the Rome Statute is ratified, it will be inevitable.
– It is a wrong perception, because today we have signed an agreement with another country, according to which the Statute of Rome will not affect our bilateral relations. There can be such a regulation with Russia. But this is just one of the options. There are other options as well. One thing is clear, we have heard the concerns expressed by the Russian Federation, and I think we will be able to ensure that the further process related to the Rome Statute does not harm the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia.
