We Have Proposed to Russia to Sign a Bilateral Agreement on the Rome Statute Issue: Kirakosyan

Armenia has proposed to Russia to sign a bilateral agreement for the legal resolution of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. This was stated by the Republic of Armenia’s representative on international legal affairs, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, during a briefing with reporters following a session of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs.

"We have suggested to Russia to sign a bilateral agreement, which also provides opportunities to create certain guarantees for concerns that some partners may have," Kirakosyan noted.

According to him, even if the Russian side is unwilling to sign this agreement, it remains pointless to discuss the potential arrest of the Russian President during his visit to Armenia. "Sitting presidents and heads of state are endowed with immunity," said Kirakosyan.

Returning to the topic of the agreement, he revealed that the relevant proposal had been made to Russian partners months ago, in April, and the text of the agreement had been sent, with an expectation for a response.

"Even if there are issues, there are also solutions," the Armenian representative for international legal affairs stated.

It is worth recalling that Armenia signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on October 1, 1999, but did not ratify it. The process was interrupted on August 13, 2004, when the document was recognized as contrary to the Constitution of Armenia.

Considering that the Constitution has been amended twice since then, the government of Nikol Pashinyan decided to resume the ratification process of the international treaty and to once again address the Constitutional Court.

On March 24, the Constitutional Court of Armenia ruled that Armenia's accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is in accordance with the current Constitution.

On September 13, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Rome Statute would be ratified with his position and full support from parliamentary colleagues. He also added that it has no connection with Armenia-Russia relations.

During today’s session, the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly provided a positive conclusion on the draft ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The document will be discussed in a plenary session of the parliament.