The Parliament of Armenia voted on Tuesday on the decision to join the International Criminal Court. This step comes to increase the tension in relations between Yerevan and Moscow, especially after the military operation launched by Baku in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with the surrender of the separatists and the flight of the majority of the Armenian population after a dispute with Azerbaijan over the region that extended for decades.

Armenia's parliament approved on Tuesday joining the International Criminal Court after rapid deliberations on the move, which angered traditional ally Russia, and comes amid tension between Yerevan and Moscow against the backdrop of Azerbaijan's military operation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

For its part, the Kremlin considered last week that Armenia's intention to ratify the statute of the Criminal Court was "very hostile" to Russia, especially since this judicial body, which is based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant in March against President Vladimir Putin on charges of deporting Ukrainian children during... The war waged by Moscow against Kiev.

The ratification comes amid tension in relations between Yerevan and Moscow after the military operation launched by Baku in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with the surrender of the separatists and the flight of the majority of the Armenian population from the region after a dispute with Azerbaijan over the region that extended for decades.

As a result of rapid deliberations, the Armenian Parliament ratified the Rome Statute by a majority of 60 votes to 22.

Before the vote, the head of the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, Yegesha Kirakosyan, confirmed, "We are providing additional guarantees to Armenia" in the face of any potential threat to its territorial integrity from Azerbaijan.

He pointed out that the ratification of the Rome Statute would mean that any future invasion of the country's territory "will be (a matter) within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court," which will have a "deterrent effect" for any hostile party.

Armenia signed the Rome Statute in 1999 without ratifying it, citing a conflict between some of its provisions and its constitution. Since then, these obstacles have been removed.

The opposition parties, which hold 36 seats in the 107-seat parliament, protested the raising of this issue and withdrew from the beginning of the session.

The Armenian move came in light of recent tension with Russia, as Yerevan accused Moscow, which deploys peacekeeping forces in Karabakh, of abandoning it in the face of Baku and its operation that ended with the surrender of the Armenian separatists and their announcement of the dissolution of the unilaterally declared republic.

The Kremlin has previously denied these accusations.

Last week, the Russian presidential spokesman also criticized Armenia's intention to ratify the criminal court system.

Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “These decisions are very hostile to us,” adding, “We of course hope that these decisions will not have a negative impact on our bilateral relations,” recalling that Russia “does not recognize” the Rome Statute and is not among the countries that have ratified it.

Kirakosyan confirmed that Armenia proposed to Russia the signing of a "bilateral agreement" that would help allay Moscow's concerns about Yerevan's accession to the Criminal Court, without providing additional details.

Recent years have witnessed a rapprochement between Armenia and Western countries at the expense of its traditional alliance with Russia.

Moscow deployed peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh following the second war that Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over the region in 2020, which ended with Yerevan's defeat. However, these forces did not play a significant role during the lightning military operation launched by Azerbaijan last month in Karabakh, which ended with them extending full “sovereignty” over it with the surrender of the separatists.

On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu praised the peacekeepers, thanking them for their “selflessness and professionalism that allowed new casualties to be avoided.”

The military operation, which lasted about 24 hours, led to the death of about 600 people.

The region witnessed a mass exodus after the fighting calmed down, as more than 100,000 of its Armenian residents fled towards Armenia, or about 85 percent of their total number, which was officially estimated at 120,000 people.

Since the fall of the Russian Empire, the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, with an Armenian majority, has formed part of the territory of Azerbaijan.

The separatists, with the support of Armenia, declared unilateral independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and established a republic that was not recognized by the international community. The region has been the subject of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia for more than three decades, and the two countries fought two wars over it, the first between 1988 and 1994, and the second in the fall of 2020.

Armenia also accused Azerbaijan of violating its territorial sovereignty in May 2021 to control part of the Karabakh region.