Armenia’s parliament, by a vote of 60-22, today ratified the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC with jurisdiction over certain international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1999 but had not ratified it.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has supported its ratification, arguing it will strengthen Armenia’s security and has nothing to do with Armenia-Russia relations.

Those voting against ratification, the With Honor and Armenia faction MPs, argued that ratification would not benefit Armenia because neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan have done so.

The pro-government Civil Contract faction voted for ratification, claiming the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and the transfer of disadvantaged citizens to the territory under the jurisdiction of Armenia are grounds for raising the issue at the   International Criminal Court.

(The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states.)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on September 28, said Moscow doesn’t welcome Armenia’s intention to join the Rome Statue, describing it a “hostile” act towards Russia.

“Armenia knows very well that we are not parties to the [Rome Statute], and Armenia is aware of the difficult decision [of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin], adopted based on this statute. We know that in Yerevan this is very well known. This is not something that we welcome," Peskov said according to TASS.

The United States signed the Rome Statute in December 2000 but two years later notified the UN Secretary General that it no longer intended to ratify the treaty and therefore no longer bears any legal obligations arising from its signature.