Russian President Vladimir Putin brushes aside the International Criminal Court’s war crimes warrant while visiting Mongolia, highlighting his defiance on the international stage.
Despite an arrest warrant for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin began his official visit to Mongolia without any interruptions since Ulaanbaatar chose not to act on it.
On Tuesday, Putin was greeted by an honor guard upon his arrival in the Mongolian capital to hold talks with the country’s leader Ukhnaa Khurelsukh. Despite international warrants calling for Russia’s arrest of its leader, Mongolia has refused these requests.
Last year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin on allegations of war crimes in Ukraine – including forced deportations of children to Russia. Mongolia is a member state of ICC and therefore party to this decision.
Despite the five-year gap, Putin’s arrival earned a cordial reception. In honor of his visit to their neighboring nation, Mongolia adorned its central Genghis Khan Square with grandiose Russian and Mongolian flags.
The day before, a modest protest had formed upon the arrival of the Russian president in the nation. Several protesters exhibited posters with an appeal to “Remove War Criminal Putin from this place.”
Mongolia has been urged by Ukraine to apprehend Putin and surrender him to the ICC court in The Hague on charges of illicitly expelling Ukrainian youth, a phenomenon that has garnered widespread attention ever since Moscow initiated its aggression against its neighboring country in February 2022.
Nevertheless, the possibility of taking action seemed remote given that Mongolia has chosen not to denounce Russia’s aggression and opted for abstaining in votes related to the conflict at the United Nations.
In a statement on Monday, Altantuya Batdorj, executive director of Amnesty International Mongolia declared that President Putin is an absconder from the law.
Any visit to an ICC member state that concludes without detention will strengthen President Putin’s present agenda and should be considered as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the efforts of the ICC.
READ ALSO: Putin to Travel to Mongolia, an ICC Member, Despite Arrest Warrant
If an arrest warrant has been issued, members of the international court have a duty to detain suspects; however, there is no enforcement mechanism available for the court.
As per the spokesperson of Putin, there were no concerns in Kremlin regarding the possibility of detention for their President during his visit.
The summit involving three parties.
Being a country with very few populace, Mongolia relies heavily on Russia for fuel and electricity while China provides investment support to its mining industry.
During the Soviet era, it was under Moscow’s influence. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it has endeavored to maintain cordial relations with both Beijing and Kremlin.
On Tuesday, there will be a ceremony attended by Putin and Khurelsukh to commemorate the Soviet-Mongolian triumph over the Japanese army in 1939 which had seized control of Manchuria located in northeastern China.
In an interview with Mongolian newspaper Unuudur, shared by the Kremlin, Putin highlighted various “encouraging economic and industrial initiatives” between the two nations ahead of their trip.
He said that one of those projects was the building of a gas pipeline called Trans-Mongolian which connects China and Russia.
The pursuit of substantive work towards a trilateral summit with Mongolian and Chinese leaders was also mentioned by the Russian president.
