News - Vladimir Vardanyan: Some friendly countries did not respond to what happened in Armenia, Karabakh

The Rome Statute should have been ratified by Armenia 20 years ago; perhaps the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan by Azerbaijani officer Ramil Safarov in Hungary should have been sent to the International Criminal Court for investigation. Vladimir Vardanyan, chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs and member of the ruling Civil Contract Party, told reporters this at the NA about this on Tuesday—and with respect to the NA approving the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  Ramil Safarov, whom Vardanyan was talking about, was sentenced by the Hungarian court to life imprisonment without parole for 30 years. The Azerbaijan authorities, however, literally bought Safarov from Hungary. On the same day, Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary. But the current Armenian authorities have decided to restore these relations. "Until now, we [i.e. Armenia] did not have a single document that would refer to the possibility of transferring Azerbaijan to the international court for investigation of crimes. The international community has not yet imposed sanctions against Azerbaijan, but this does not mean that Azerbaijan's behavior is legal," he added. Also, Vardanyan expressed his surprise regarding the UN mission belated visit to Nagorno-Karabakh, when the Armenians there are already displaced, as well as regarding its assessments. "We need to find out at the UN headquarters and the UN Security Council whether they share the opinion of the mission, which, in fact, also announced that it cannot go to remote villages," the Armenian MP emphasized. Also, Vardanyan pointed to the lack of the international community’s proper response to the situation. "Furthermore, it is surprising that some of our friendly countries have not yet responded clearly to what happened in Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), and have not even addressed such violations which are considered a serious crime even by their legislation," added the Armenian lawmaker. At the same time, he expressed his bewilderment regarding the decree signed by Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan, according to which the Artsakh Republic shall be dissolved as of January 1, 2024. "The opening and closing of the history of a country is not carried out only on the basis of a decree," said Vardanyan.