(Reuters) – Armenia’s parliament on Tuesday ratified the founding statute of the International Criminal Court, subjecting itself to the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague, Russian state news agencies said.
The plan had been strongly opposed by Russia, Armenia’s formal ally, with which ties have become badly strained over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Azerbaijan’s recapture of a region controlled for three decades by ethnic Armenians.
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds or more children from Ukraine, a claim dismissed by the Kremlin as meaningless. Joining the ICC means Armenia will be obliged to arrest Putin if he sets foot there.
Armenia says it has been discussing its plans with Russia, after Moscow warned it in March of “serious consequences” if it submitted to ICC jurisdiction.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
