Mongolia has actually committed itself to executing international arrest warrants. The country makes an exception for Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was received in Mongolia despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Kremlin chief was greeted by a red carpet guard of honor at the airport in the capital Ulan Bator on Monday. The ICC had issued his arrest warrant for the alleged illegal abduction of Ukrainian children in the Ukraine war that has been ongoing since February 2022. Ukraine, the West and human rights activists are demanding its execution.
The reason for Putin’s trip to Mongolia is the celebration of the 85th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet and Mongolian forces over Japan. The program includes a meeting between Putin and Mongolian President Uchnaa Khürelsüch.
Ukraine has criticized the government of Mongolia for receiving Russian President Vladimir Putin and demanded consequences for the country. Mongolia helped Putin, who is wanted on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine, to escape criminal justice, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhij Tychyj said in Kiev. The country is thus making itself partly responsible for Putin’s “war crimes”. Putin arrived in the country on Monday evening.
“We will work with our partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulan Bator,” Tychyj said. “The Mongolian government’s failure to execute the International Criminal Court’s binding arrest warrant against Putin is a serious blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman told X.
Last week, Kiev called on the Mongolian authorities to execute the arrest warrant against Putin. The ICC, meanwhile, reminded that its members have an “obligation” to arrest suspects wanted by the Hague-based tribunal. If the Mongolian authorities do not comply, however, the ICC can do little to stop them.
Mongolia, located between Russia and China, was under Soviet influence during the Soviet era. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country tried to maintain good relations with Moscow and Beijing. The government in Ulan Bator did not condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Mongolia abstained from UN votes on the conflict.
The ICC issued its arrest warrant against Putin in March 2023. There were “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Kremlin chief “bears responsibility for the war crime of the illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia, the court said at the time. The government in Kyiv accuses the Russian authorities of bringing thousands of children from children’s homes and other state institutions to Russia from the Ukrainian territories under its control.
Media investigations revealed that Ukrainian children were being adopted by Russian families and their names were being changed. This led to Moscow being accused of trying to erase the children’s Ukrainian identity. The Russian authorities, however, claim that they have brought some children from the vicinity of combat zones to Russia for their own protection.
Putin’s trip to Mongolia is his first visit to an ICC member state since the arrest warrant was issued. The Kremlin had announced ahead of the trip that Putin was “not worried” about a possible arrest in Mongolia.
