Ratifying Rome Statute is in Armenia’s national interests and has nothing to do with Russia, says Justice Minister

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) would increase new international criminal-legal levers in Armenia’s sovereign territory and has nothing to do with the processes taking place in Russia, Armenia’s Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan has said.

“Adopting the Rome Statute is a mechanism for international criminal protection, which allows for international criminal, prosecutorial and judicial systems to [cover] the crimes, particularly war crimes that have taken place in our sovereign territory,” Minasyan said.

When asked on the ICC arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the minister said that the Armenian government began the process of ratifying the Rome Statute long before the ICC issued the warrant.

“Ratifying the Rome Statute is only aimed at increasing new internationalcriminal-legal levers in the sovereign territory of Armenia. This is aimed at our national interests,” Minasyan said.

Armenia will fully ratify theRome Statuteof the International Criminal Court, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on September 13 in parliament.

“The government has sent the Rome Statute to the National Assembly and it is my position and the position of our faction that it will be fully ratified. This has nothing to do with the Armenia-Russia relations, this has to do with Armenia’s security issues,” Pashinyan said during question time in parliament.

The Pashinyan Administrationexplainedthat it seeks to join the Rome Statute because it would allow to hold the government of Azerbaijan to account for war crimes.