On July 21, the 37th sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Committee on Cooperation between the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation presided over by the RF FA Deputy Speaker of the RF FA Federation Council Yury Vorobyov and the RA NA Vice President Hakob Arshakyan took place in the city of Irkutsk of Russia.

At the meeting reference was made to the process of ratifying the Rome Statute, the importance of not damaging the strategic relations between Armenia and Russia was underscored.

NA Deputy Speaker Hakob Arshakyan referred to the concern voiced by the Deputy Speaker of the RF FA Federation Council Yury Vorobyov, that the process of ratifying the Rome Statute by Armenia could cause tangible damage to Russian-Armenian relations.

In particular, Hakob Arshakyan said that the issue of the adoption of the Rome Statute is under active discussion in the expert circles of the RA and RF MFAs, and it is in no way directed against Russia, but will serve to prevent Azerbaijani encroachments on the sovereign territory of Armenia.

The deputy speaker of the National Assembly expressed his belief that a legal solution will definitely be found to the issue, which will be acceptable for Armenia and Russia. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly also emphasized that the process of ratification of the Statute began much earlier than the decision made by the International Court against the President of the Russian Federation. This circumstance proves that the process could not and cannot be directed against Russia in any way, he said.