Armenia has formally handed in its request to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and will become a member in February, The Hague-based tribunal announced on November 17. Yerevan last month signed the ratification of the Rome Statute that recognizes the ICC's jurisdiction. Armenia says this would allow the court's prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes committed in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku in September retook complete control of the region after a lightning offensive, resulting in some 120,000 ethnic Armenians fleeing across the border into Armenia. Yerevan has accused Baku of "ethnic cleansing" in the region, a claim Azerbaijan strongly denies.
