Yerevan /Mediamax/. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said today that "Moscow is seeking clarification from Yerevan on the ratification of the Rome Statute by the Armenian parliament.”

“We have already requested clarification on this matter from the Armenian side and will decide our next steps based on the Yerevan’s response,” Maria Zakharova said, according to TASS.

On September 1, the Armenian government sent the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to the National Assembly for ratification.

In July of this year, Yuri Vorobyev, Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council, co-chairman of the Armenian-Russian inter-parliamentary commission, commented on the March 24 decision of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, which ruled that the Rome Statute does not contradict the country’s constitution.

“As we understand it, this means that Armenia recognizes the jurisdiction of the Hague Tribunal with regard to all the cases it studies. We assume that this step by our Armenian colleagues does not have an anti-Russian context, nevertheless, in practice, it tangibly harms Russian-Armenian relations. We urge our allies to once again scrutinize the consequences of joining the Rome Statute and assess possible risks to allied relations with Russia,” Vorobyov said. He noted that a dialog between the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Armenia is currently underway on that matter.

In response the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan said that “the issue of the adoption of the Rome Statute is in no way directed against Russia, but will serve to prevent Azerbaijani encroachments on the sovereign territory of Armenia.”

Hakob Arshakyan noted that the issue of the adoption of the Rome Statute is being actively discussed by the experts of Armenian and Russian foreign ministers.

He voiced conviction that the “a legal solution will definitely be found to the issue acceptable for Armenia and Russia.”