ArmInfo. Once again, I am forced to state that Yerevan's participation in the Rome Statute, against the backdrop of quasi-arrest warrants issued in The Hague for several Russian officials, directly harms Armenian-Russian relations, not only symbolically, but also quite practically. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova during a briefing on December 4th.
She noted that if Armenia's cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) could contribute to some strengthening of international legal norms, then it could be understood and welcomed. <But the practice of this pseudo-court says otherwise. The ICC has not helped resolve a single conflict it has tried to deal with>, Zakharova emphasized. The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that their position was not formed due to any claims against the Russian Federation and its representatives by the ICC, but rather was established long before. <We understood that this structure would not work, it cannot work, it was assembled incorrectly, it does not perform the functions it claims, it is incapable of solving the problems and issues it purported to solve. And our prediction from many years ago has proven to be accurate. Throughout all these years, there has not been a single instance of positive participation in the solution, in overcoming any crises. Instead, there have been endless scandals, both internally and externally. Why? This is because, as I mentioned, the structure was created incorrectly from the start. The initial flaws in its creation led to a long list of issues and such significant costs,> she noted.