Yerevan’s ratification of the Rome Statute is not related to relations with Russia, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday, September 11.

“We began the ratification of the Rome Statute in December 2022. Unfortunately, this process coincided with the context of relations between Russia and the ICC (International Criminal Court – Ed.). But I must say that this process is not related to Armenia’s relations with Russia,” Pashinyan said in an interview with the Public Television. According to him, the ratification of the document is connected “with the border situation and tension with Azerbaijan.”

“We understand that a bad context is being formed and this causes concern, but on the other hand we cannot stop our relations and obligations with other partners and we are trying to develop these relations in a natural way,” Pashinyan noted. He said that Armenia will ratify the Rome Statute because it wants the events of May 2021 and September 2022, when the Azerbaijani Armed Forces attacked the territory of Armenia, to become the subject of investigation at the International Criminal Court.

“This is a factor that can affect the increase in the level of our security in conditions where the CSTO does not fulfill its obligations to Armenia. Our obligations are to take steps by which we will try to acquire additional security instruments,” Pashinyan said.

“We are actively working to ensure that a correct perception is formed in Russia. In connection with the Rome Statute, we have proposed a very specific solution that can nullify all existing concerns, and we continue to work in this direction,” the Armenian Prime Minister noted.

Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1998.