Armenia’s parliament votes to join the International Criminal Court, straining ties with ally Russia

By AVET DEMOURIAN
Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The Armenian parliament has voted to join International Criminal Court, which earlier this year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine. The move will further strain Armenia’s deteriorating relations with its ally Russia, which last month called Yerevan’s push to join the ICC an “unfriendly step.” Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC are bound to arrest Putin if he sets foot on their soil. Armenia later sought to assure Russia that Putin would not be arrested if he entered the country.