Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Mongolia to fulfill its obligations under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to the country.
Putin’s visit to Mongolia on 3 September will mark his first trip to a state party to the ICC’s Rome Statute since the court issued the arrest warrant in March 2023. Mongolian authorities have assured Putin that he will not be arrested.
The ministry expressed hope that the Mongolian government “realizes the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal” and that the arrest warrant for his involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children was issued by the ICC, “whose jurisdiction is recognized by Mongolia.”
“The abduction of Ukrainian children is just one of many crimes for which Putin and the rest of Russia’s military-political leadership must face justice,” the ministry reported.
They emphasized that these individuals are “guilty of aggressive war against Ukraine, atrocities against the Ukrainian people, murders, rapes, robberies, shelling of civilian infrastructure and genocide.”
The foreign ministry called Mongolia to “execute the mandatory international arrest warrant” and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Russian President Dmitry Peskov’s spokesman said the Kremlin is “not concerned” about Vladimir Putin’s trip to Mongolia.
According to two people familiar with the Kremlin’s preparations, Putin received assurances from Mongolia that he would not be arrested under an International Criminal Court warrant.
“Putin is going to Mongolia under Chinese security guarantees,” said Stanislav Belkovsky, a former Kremlin political adviser and now a critic of the Russian government. “Mongolia will not go against China, even if it does not want to quarrel with the United States.”
Russia intends to build a new gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, through Mongolia to China.
Putin skipped last year’s G20 summit in India’s capital, avoiding potential political condemnation and any risk of arrest under the ICC warrant.
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