Putin’s Mongolian Welcome: Defying International Arrest Warrant, a Lavish Reception Awaits
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Visit to Mongolia Sparks Controversy
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Monday, his first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court since it issued an arrest warrant against him.
The Associated Press reported that Mongolia is hosting a reception for the Russian president despite an international arrest warrant against him.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tykhi considered Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin a “big blow” to the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court.
Tykhi stated that Kiev would “press to punish” the impoverished Asian country, adding that “Mongolia has allowed a convicted criminal to evade justice and therefore shares responsibility for the war crimes he committed.”
The International Criminal Court’s spokesman, Fadi al-Abdullah, emphasized that Mongolia has a duty to cooperate with the court, as stipulated in the Rome Statute.
International Criminal Court’s Arrest Warrants
The International Criminal Court has issued two arrest warrants against Russian officials, including former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian General Valery Gerasimov, for alleged crimes during the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Amnesty International Mongolia’s executive director Altantuya Batdorg insisted that the country must ”arrest” Putin as a “fugitive from justice”.
Maria Elena Vinoli of Human Rights Watch previously believed that welcoming the Russian leader would be “an insult to the many victims of crimes by Russian forces” in Ukraine.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated that the Kremlin had “no concerns” over the matter.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March last year, accusing him of war crimes for illegally expelling hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The Kremlin has rejected the allegations, saying they are “politically motivated.”
International Support for the International Criminal Court
A group of 93 countries have declared their support for the International Criminal Court, stressing the need to establish this international judicial body ”without fear”.
The arrest warrant obliges the court’s member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he steps foot on their territory.
The International Criminal Court was established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, a 1998 treaty to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.
David Schiffer, former US ambassador and chief negotiator of the law establishing the International Criminal Court, said that “Putin is unlikely to be arrested in Mongolia.”
Schiffer added that the Russian president is likely to use the visit to “slander and ridicule the International Criminal Court and Ukraine”.
Putin canceled a trip to South Africa to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in August 2023, after a court in the country confirmed the need to arrest him if he arrived on its territory.
An open letter from the Anti-War Human Rights Alliance called on the Mongolian government to meet its obligations and arrest Putin.
The letter stated that “the extent of devastation in Ukraine after two and a half years of war is almost impossible to quantify” and that “all this human suffering is caused by the will of one man (Putin) and it can be ended by obeying the law”.