Yerevan's participation in the Rome Statute ‘against the background of quasi-orders’ issued in The Hague for the arrest of a number of Russian officials causes direct damage to Russian-Armenian relations not only symbolically, but also quite practically, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"Our attitude towards the ICC is well known. Our attitude towards the ICC, as well as Armenia's joining this so-called ‘body’ is well known, it is known to our Armenian colleagues," Zakharova said at a press briefing on Wednesday, responding to a question about Yerevan's statement on readiness to cooperate with the ICC in order to strengthen international legal norms.
Zakharova said that if Armenia's co-operation with the ICC could really contribute to some kind of strengthening of international legal norms, it could somehow be understood and even welcomed, but "the practice of two decades of work of this pseudo-court speaks to the contrary."
In her opinion, the ICC has not helped to resolve any conflict it has tried to deal with.
"Moreover, there are plenty of direct violations of international law, basic standards of justice, and simply common sense in its record. The statement of support and readiness to co-operate only encourages the so-called ‘court’ for new adventures," Zakharova said.
