Armenia formally joins the International Criminal Court. 2,900 Swiss passengers have been affected by strikes at German airports

Despite Russian criticism, Armenia has formally become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). “The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court officially entered into force for Armenia on February 1,” Armenian Representative for International Legal Affairs Yeghishe Kirakosyan told AFP news agency.

This means that Armenia would have to arrest court-convicted Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit.

Russia had previously sharply criticized Armenia’s accession to the ICC, describing it as an “unfriendly act”. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan tried to appease Moscow and emphasized that this initiative was not aimed at Russia.

“By joining the ICC, Armenia will gain the means to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity on its territory,” Kirakosyan said. “This mainly concerns Azerbaijan,” he added.

The court, located in The Hague, has prosecuted particularly serious crimes, such as war crimes, since 2002. In March, the Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over the alleged kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia does not recognize the ICC.

Tensions increased

Tensions had recently increased between Yerevan and Moscow over the role of Russian peacekeepers in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is disputed between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia felt abandoned by its traditional ally as Russia failed to intervene in the face of the Azerbaijani military offensive.

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive in the Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh. After their surrender just one day later, the pro-Armenian forces had to accept the dissolution of their self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan under international law, but until now the majority of ethnic Armenians have lived there. Nearly all of the region’s former 120,000 Armenian residents have now fled to Armenia for fear of reprisals from Azerbaijan. (sda/afp)