• Russia had warned Yerevan that proceeding with the proposal would have "extremely negative consequences."
• Armenia showed no quick reaction.
• ICC issued an arrest order for President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has warned Armenia of 'severe consequences' if it submits to the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest order for President Vladimir Putin.

The ICC issued the warrant last month, accusing Putin of committing a war crime by illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, a move that the Kremlin lambasted as worthless and grossly biased.

Armenia, a traditional Russian ally whose relations with Moscow have deteriorated since Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine in what he dubbed a 'special military operation,' is working to become a state party to the Rome Statute, bringing it under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry described Armenia's ICC intentions as 'unacceptable.'

It said Russia had warned Yerevan that proceeding with the proposal would have 'extremely negative consequences' for bilateral relations. The plan would need to be adopted by the Armenian parliament after being approved by the constitutional court.

'Moscow considers official Yerevan's plans to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to be unacceptable against the background of the recent illegal and legally null and void warrants of the ICC against the Russian leadership,' RIA cited the Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying.

Armenia showed no quick reaction.

South Africa and Turkey are among the countries Putin may visit this year, while the Russian leader has previously traveled extensively throughout the former Soviet Union, including to Armenia, where Russia has peacekeeping forces and a military facility.

Moscow's relations with Yerevan have worsened in recent months, owing to Armenia's claim that Russia has failed to properly implement a 2020 peace pact it helped mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan to end a war over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated part of Azerbaijan.

Russia has defended the activities of its soldiers, who have so far not intervened to end what Armenia claims is a partial blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azeri activists.

Russia has a mutual defense treaty with Armenia and has traditionally served as a power broker in the South Caucasus region, but it is seeing increased competition for influence from the United States, the European Union, and Turkey.

https://www.bolnews.com/2023/03/28/world/moscow-warns-armenia-against-allying-with-icc-in-the-aftermath-of-putins-arrest-order/index.html