Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker Hakob Arshakyan told Armenpress that joining the International Criminal Court in The Hague does not harm relations with Russia, Armenpress reported.

“We have heard the concerns expressed by the Russian Federation, and I think that we will be able to ensure that the provision of the further process related to the Rome Statute does not damage the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia,” Arshakyan said.

He added that he hoped for the possibility of an agreement between the countries that the ratification of the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court would not affect relations with Russia.

The Constitutional Court of Armenia decided on the conformity of the Rome Statute with the country's constitution in connection with the desire to bring to justice those Azerbaijani servicemen who committed crimes during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the same time, Azerbaijan does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry called absolutely unacceptable Armenia's plans to join the Rome Statute of the ICC against the backdrop of an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin issued by a court in The Hague. This was stated by a source in the Foreign Ministry. He specified that Moscow had warned Yerevan about the extremely negative consequences of such a decision.