The Armenian Parliament Ratifies the Rome Statute in Show of Defiance Against Moscow

The Armenian Parliament has ratified the Rome Statute, which the government approved and sent to the Parliament in December 2022. Armenia’s parliament voted Tuesday to join the International Criminal Court, a move that further strains the country’s ties with its old ally Russia after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over events in Ukraine. Ahead of the vote, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said that Moscow would view any move to join the international court as “extremely hostile” towards Russia. Moscow last month called Yerevan’s effort to join the ICC an “unfriendly step,” and the Russian Foreign…