Armenia’s cooperation with Western countries, in particular the United States or France, is not directed against its other security partners, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with The Telegraph.
“Our partners may have concerns about our relationships with them or how our relationships with them may affect their security plans. And this is a problem that we are trying to overcome by discussing with our partners their overall plans as transparently as possible,” he said.
Pashinyan noted that the threat of nuclear war has been actively discussed over the past two years, and said that his position is to interact “with several potential parties to such a nuclear war.”
According to the Armenian prime minister, the main goal of Armenia’s foreign policy is to do everything possible to establish peace in the Caucasus. He expressed hope that the rest of the countries in the region will do the same, adding that Yerevan does not have “certain confidence” regarding some of them.
The interview also touched upon the topic of Armenia’s ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which last year issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pashinyan refused to answer whether Armenian police would act on a warrant in the event of Putin’s visit, while emphasizing that he does not decide who to arrest.
“And, as I said, Armenia, as a responsible state, must remain committed to all of its international obligations, including the obligations that it has in relations with the Russian Federation and the obligations that the country has in international relations,” he added.
In October, Armenia ratified the Rome Statute, thereby falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC. In Yerevan they said that they offered Moscow to sign a bilateral agreement so that if the Rome Statute was ratified, “Russia’s fears would be dispelled.” Article 98 of the document states that the ICC cannot request assistance from a participating country if this violates its other obligations under international law.