Russia reacts as Armenia headed to abide by ICC

Russia warned Armenia of "serious consequences" if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which recently issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agency RIA reported on Monday.

The ICC issued the warrant this month, accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, a move condemned by the Kremlin as a meaningless and outrageously partisan decision.

Armenia, a traditional Russian ally, is moving towards becoming a state party to the Rome Statute, a move that would bring it under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

RIA cited a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Moscow regarded Armenia's ICC plans as "unacceptable".

It said Russia had warned Yerevan of "extremely negative consequences" for bilateral relations if it went ahead with the plan, which would need to be ratified by the Armenian parliament following approval by the constitutional court.

"Moscow considers Yerevan's plans to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to be absolutely unacceptable against the background of the recent illegal and legally null and void warrants of the ICC against the Russian leadership," RIA cited the Russian Foreign Ministry source as saying.

There was no immediate reaction from Armenia.