Armenia votes to join International Criminal Court, angering Russia I X23 News

#NagornoKarabakh #Armenia #ICC
Armenia's parliament has voted to join the International Criminal Court. Yerevan is seeking security and legal guarantees in the aftermath of its latest conflict with Azerbaijan. But Armenia's desire to join the ICC has angered its strategic ally Russia. The court has issued an arrest warrant for President Putin - and Armenia would be legally obligated to arrest him if he enters the country. The Kremlin had warned Yerevan of serious consequences if it joins the Hague-based court.

This move comes as a United Nations team has just visited the contested enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The team said it hasn't seen evidence of damage to civilian infrastructure, or to cultural and religious sites. Most of Nagorno-Karabakh's roughly 120,000 residents have fled after a lightning military operation in which Azerbaijan took control of the disputed region. The enclave lies within Azerbaijan's internationally recognised borders, but was until recently controlled by Armenian separatists. Baku has called on ethnic Armenian residents to stay. But Armenia accused Azerbaijan of ethnically cleansing and sparking a mass exodus that has caused a refugee crisis in Armenia.