The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, arrived Monday in Mongolia for a state visit, despite an international arrest warrant against him, reported the Associated Press (AP).
Mongolia, an East Asian landlocked country and a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has warmly received Putin, showing no indication it would respond to the ICC arrest warrant against the Russian President.
Putin in Mongolia
The Russian President has embarked on an official visit to Mongolia on Monday for talks likely related to a new gas pipeline connecting Russia and China. Putin was received with a ceremony in the main square of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. Honor guards dressed in red and blue uniforms received the Russian leader.
The Mongolian President, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, accompanied Putin to the Government Palace. Both leaders bowed before a statue of the founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, before entering the building to start their meetings.
According to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Putin said that the relations between both countries “are developing in all areas.” He also invited his Mongolian counterpart to join the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in late October, and Khurelsukh accepted the invitation.
Putin’s trip to Mongolia is his first visit to the country in five years. He will join a ceremony to observe the 85th anniversary of Soviet and Mongolian troops victory over the Japanese army that had captured Manchuria in northeastern China. Thousands of soldiers died in the months-long battle over the border’s location between Mongolia and Manchuria.
Defying ICC Warrant
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant accusing Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from occupied regions in Ukraine to Russia, charges that the Kremlin dismissed as “politically motivated.”
Members of the ICC are obliged to detain suspects targeted by arrest warrants, although the international court does not have any enforcement mechanisms. However, Mongolia is a landlocked country, located between Russia and China. Hence, it is heavily dependent on Moscow for fuel and electricity and on Beijing for investments in its mining industry.
Putin’s visit to Mongolia is the first to an ICC member country since the court issued its arrest warrant 18 months ago, putting the country in a critical situation.
International Calls
Putin’s visit to the East Asian country has spurred calls for Mongolia to comply with the ICC arrest warrant. On Monday, the European Union (EU) raised concerns that Mongolia might not bow to the court’s arrest warrant, saying it has shared its concerns with Mongolian authorities.
In this respect, European Commission spokeswoman, Nabila Massrali, said: “Mongolia, like all other countries, has the right to develop its international ties according to its own interests.” However, “Mongolia is a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC since 2002, with the legal obligations that it entails,” she added.
Similarly, over 50 Russians living abroad have signed an open letter calling the Mongolian government to “immediately detain Vladimir Putin upon his arrival.” One of the letter’s signers is Valdimir Kara-Murza, who was recently released from a Russian prison in the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Ukraine’s Reaction
Ahead of Putin’s visit, Ukraine called on Mongolia to hand the Russian leader over to the ICC in The Hague. On Monday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin “dealt a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the system of criminal law,” reported Reuters.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Heorhiy Tykhyi, wrote in a post on Telegram: “Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to evade justice, thereby sharing responsibility for the war crimes,” adding that Kyiv would cooperate with allies to “ensure Mongolia felt the consequences.”
On the other side, Russia has downplayed concerns over calls to arrest Putin. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said that Moscow had “no worries” regarding an action related to the ICC arrest warrant. He added that Russia and Mongolia had “a great dialogue” and had discussed all aspects of the visit in advance.
Breaking Isolation
Putin has been facing increasing international isolation since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. In an attempt to counter this isolation, he made a series of overseas trips.
In July, Putin traveled to Kazakhstan to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He visited North Korea and Vietnam in June, whereas in May, he made a trip to China.
However, he virtually joined a BRICS meeting in Johannesburg last year, fearing that South Africa, an ICC member, could comply with the court’s arrest warrant.
Implications for Mongolia
Being an ICC member state, Mongolia could face consequences for its inaction. Speaking to Politico, senior research fellow at the Institute for Legal Studies, Tamás Hoffmann, said: “Mongolia will most certainly be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court for breaching its duty of cooperation.”
He added: “The ICC may then decide to refer the case to the Assembly of Parties, which could condemn Mongolia’s violation under a so-called non-compliance procedure. However, there are no serious consequences, such as sanctions, for the offending country.”
