The trip appears to be an act of defiance towards the International Criminal Court, Ukraine, as well as many Western countries and NGOs that have called for the arrest of the Russian president.
Vladimir Putin met his Mongolian counterpart in Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday, September 3, the Russian president’s first official visit to a member country of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since an arrest warrant was issued against him on March 17, 2023. Arriving in the Mongolian capital on Monday evening, the Russian leader was greeted by the honor guard, without being arrested upon getting off the plane. This is his first trip to Mongolia in five years.
His trip appears to be an act of defiance towards the ICC, war-torn Ukraine, and many Western countries and human rights organisations that have called for his arrest.
Mongolia theoretically has an “obligation” to question Putin
Vladimir Putin was welcomed Tuesday afternoon by his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaa Khurelsukh at Ulaanbaatar’s imposing Genghis Khan Square, during a lavish ceremony attended by delegations from both countries. A brass band performed military tunes and the Russian and Mongolian national anthems in front of the two leaders, who stood next to Mongolian soldiers in traditional dress.
Vladimir Putin is the subject of an arrest warrant for suspected illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Mongolia, a member of the ICC, was therefore obliged to arrest him, according to the Rome Statute that founded the court. kyiv reacted angrily: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhiy accused Mongolia of having “allowed the accused criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes”.
The Court based in The Hague in the Netherlands recalled last week that its member countries have the«obligation» to arrest individuals targeted by an arrest warrant. But in practice, it cannot force them: when a member country does not fulfill its obligations towards the ICC, the latter can refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties, which meets once a year but whose possible sanctions are essentially limited to a verbal reprimand.
In the past, other individuals wanted by the Court, such as former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, have travelled to countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute without being questioned. Mongolia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 and ratified it in 2002.
The Mongolian government has not commented on the possible arrest of the Russian leader. But a spokesman for the president denied on social media reports that the ICC had sent a letter asking local authorities to execute the arrest warrant during the visit. Moscow does not recognize the ICC and has always strongly rejected the court’s charges against the Russian president. Mongolia “must stop» Vladimir Putin, who «it was justice“, insisted the executive director of Amnesty International in Mongolia, Altantuya Batdorj, on Monday.
“Get the war criminal out”
A landlocked democracy between two authoritarian countries, Russia and China, Mongolia has close cultural ties with Moscow and a significant trade relationship with Beijing. Both powers covet its rich natural resources and want to increase their influence there, as does the United States.
Mongolia, once part of the Soviet Union, has not condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting on the conflict at the United Nations. The Kremlin had assured last week that it had not “no worries” regarding a possible arrest of the Russian president.
Mongolian law enforcement officers on Tuesday prevented a handful of protesters opposed to Vladimir Putin’s presence from getting too close to the Russian leader. On Monday afternoon, some protesters had already expressed their discontent, some holding up a banner reading “Get the war criminal Putin out”.
“Promising projects”
The visit of the Kremlin master coincides with the 85th anniversary of the victory of the Mongolian and Soviet forces over Japan. Ahead of the trip, the Russian leader highlighted the “promising economic and industrial projects” between the two countries, in an interview with the Mongolian newspaper A cell shared by the Kremlin.
Among these projects: the construction of a trans-Mongolian gas pipeline linking China and Russia, he cited. He also said “interested in pursuing substantial work” in view of a trilateral summit between China, Russia and Mongolia.
