Putin Visits Mongolia in Defiance of ICC Arrest Warrant

Visiting Russian leader Vladimir Putin was greeted by Mongolia’s president and other senior officials despite calls for his arrest under a warrant from the International Criminal Court related to alleged war crimes.

Putin shook hands with Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa in a public square in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday before they headed into talks that the two nations usually hold every fall. The pair will discuss “issues of relations and cooperation,” the Mongolian government said earlier without elaborating.

A group of protesters with a Ukrainian flag tried to gather at the square, local news website ikon.mn reported, adding that police detained six people who tried to disrupt the welcome ceremony. Ukraine earlier urged Mongolia to carry out the arrest warrant for Putin. 

The visit is the first by Putin to a member state of the ICC since the warrant was issued last year over the abduction of children from occupied areas of Ukraine. As a signatory to the Rome Statute governing the court, Mongolia is obligated to implement the warrant and arrest Putin if he appears on its territory.

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Putin hasn’t risked similar travels before. He skipped last year’s summit in South Africa of leaders from the BRICS grouping after the host made clear it would have to comply with the ICC warrant as a member state. Putin received assurances ahead of the trip to Mongolia that he won’t be arrested, according to two people familiar with the Kremlin’s preparations for his travels.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Mongolia should “execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

A spokesman for the ICC said earlier that parties “to the ICC Rome Statute have the obligation to cooperate” with court decisions, “including in relation to arrest warrants.” In the case of non-cooperation, an ICC judge may inform the court’s oversight and legislative body, which can “take any measure it deems appropriate.”

Putin’s visit comes only six months after the first Mongolian judge to serve on the ICC took up his post. Khurelsukh hailed the development at the time.

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A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar said earlier that Putin shouldn’t be given a platform to promote aggression against Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the U.S. are members of the ICC, which has 124 member states.

Russia aims to build a new gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, via Mongolia to China. Russia may supply gas to Mongolia as part of the endeavor, Putin said in an interview with Mongolia’s Unuudur newspaper.