Zakharova: Yerevan`s participation in the Rome Statute directly harms  Armenian-Russian relations

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.