Armenia ratifies ICC Rome Statute in show of defiance against Russ

Ahead of the vote, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said that Moscow would view any move to join the international court as "extremely hostile" towards Russia.

The Armenian Parliament has voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, acknowledging the jurisdiction of the court.

"Sixty deputies voted in favour of ratification, 20 against. The decision has been made," Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan announced on Wednesday, Russian state-owned media TASS reported.

Ahead of the vote, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said that Moscow would view any move to join the international court as "extremely hostile" towards Russia.

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that joining the court was in the interests of his country's security and not directed at Russia.

Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.