Russia warns Armenia against accepting ICC jurisdiction after arrest warrant for Putin

(Patria) - Russia has warned Armenia of "serious consequences" if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported.

The ICC issued the warrant this month, accusing Putin of the war crime of unlawful deportation of hundreds of children from Ukraine, which the Kremlin has condemned as a meaningless and outrageously biased decision. Armenia is moving towards becoming a state party to the Rome Statute, which would bring it under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

RIA, the state-run Russian news agency, quoted a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Moscow considers Armenia's plans for the ICC as "unacceptable." It is stated that Russia has warned Yerevan of "extremely negative consequences" for bilateral relations if the plan, which is expected to be ratified by the Armenian parliament after approval by the constitutional court, goes ahead.

"Moscow considers the plans of official Yerevan to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court absolutely unacceptable in the context of the recent illegal and legally void orders of the ICC against the Russian leadership," RIA quotes a source from the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying.

An ICC warrant can complicate Putin's global travel plans if the country he wishes to visit is a state party to the Rome Statute. Countries Putin might visit this year include South Africa and Turkey, and the Russian leader has regularly traveled around the former Soviet Union in the past, including to Armenia, where Russia has peacekeeping troops and a military base. Russia has a mutual defense pact with Armenia and has traditionally been a mediator in the South Caucasus, but faces increasing competition from the United States, the European Union, and Turkey.