Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Mongolia on Tuesday for an official visit, his first to a member country of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Arriving in the capital Ulan Bator on Monday evening, the leader was greeted by the guard of honour at the airport, without being arrested when he got off the plane, according to images broadcast by Russian television.
His trip appears to be an act of defiance against the ICC, war-torn Ukraine, a number of Western countries and human rights organisations that have called for his arrest.
Mr Putin has been wanted on an arrest warrant since March 2023 for suspected illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Mongolia, a member of the ICC, was therefore required to arrest him, according to the Rome Statute that founded the court.
kyiv immediately reacted angrily: Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhiy accused Mongolia of “allowing the indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes.”
The Hague-based court recalled last week that its member countries have an “obligation” to arrest individuals targeted by an arrest warrant.
But in practice, it cannot force them: when a member country does not fulfil 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.
“No worries”
In the past, other individuals subject to an arrest warrant from the Court, such as former Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir, have travelled to countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute without being questioned.
Mongolia signed it in 2000, before ratifying it in 2002.
A landlocked democracy between two authoritarian countries, Russia and China, Mongolia has close cultural ties with Moscow as well as 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 assured last week that it had “no concerns” about a possible arrest of the Russian president.
Genghis Khan Square – also known as Sukhbaatar – in central Ulaanbaatar was decorated Monday with giant flags of Mongolia and Russia in honour of Mr Putin’s visit, his first in five years.
But in the afternoon, some protesters expressed their discontent, some holding up a banner that read “Get rid of war criminal Putin.”
Another protest is planned for midday Tuesday at Ulaanbaatar’s Monument to Victims of Political Repression, which honors those who suffered under Mongolia’s decades-long communist regime.
“Promising projects”
This visit coincides with the 85e anniversary of the decisive victory of the Mongolian and Soviet forces against Japan. On this occasion, Mr. Putin will be received by his counterpart Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.
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 Unuudur shared by the Kremlin.
Among these projects: the construction of a trans-Mongolia gas pipeline linking China and Russia, he cited.
He also said he was “interested in continuing substantial work” towards a trilateral summit between China, Russia and Mongolia.
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, which is headquartered in The Hague, and has always firmly rejected the charges brought by this court against the Russian president.
Mongolia “must arrest” Vladimir Putin, who is “fleeing justice”, insisted on Monday the executive director of Amnesty International in Mongolia, Altantuya Batdorj.