Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet with Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and other senior officials despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest related to alleged war crimes.
Following his arrival in Mongolia on Monday evening, Putin will meet with President Ukhnaa on Tuesday. The Mongolian government stated that the two leaders will discuss “issues of relations and cooperation,” without providing further details.
This visit marks Putin’s first trip to an ICC member state since the warrant was issued last year, alleging his involvement in the abduction of children from occupied Ukrainian territories. As a signatory to the Rome Statute, which governs the ICC, Mongolia has an obligation to execute the warrant and arrest Putin should he enter its territory.
Putin has previously avoided similar travels, notably skipping the BRICS summit in South Africa last year after the host nation confirmed its commitment to enforcing the ICC warrant as a member state.
Bloomberg News reported that Putin received assurances prior to his trip to Mongolia that he would not be arrested, citing sources familiar with the Kremlin’s travel preparations.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement urging Mongolia to “execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”
An ICC spokesperson previously stated that parties “to the ICC Rome Statute have the obligation to cooperate” with court decisions, “including in relation to arrest warrants.” In the event 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 occurs just six months after the appointment of the first Mongolian judge to serve on the ICC, a development lauded by President Ukhnaa at the time.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar previously stated that Putin should not be given a platform to promote aggression against Ukraine.
Neither Russia nor the U.S. are members of the ICC, which currently comprises 124 member states.
Russia aims to construct a new gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, traversing Mongolia to reach China. In an interview with Mongolia’s Unuudur newspaper, Putin mentioned that Russia may supply gas to Mongolia as part of this project.