Putin arrives in Mongolia on first visit to International Criminal Court member state

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Monday for his first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court since it issued an arrest warrant for him, but the Kremlin showed no concern.

Putin got off his plane in the evening at the airport in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, according to Russian television.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tekhey considered Mongolia’s failure to arrest Putin a major blow to the legitimacy of the International Criminal Court, adding that Kiev would push for the country to be punished.

“Mongolia allowed a convicted criminal to escape justice, and therefore shares responsibility for the war crimes he committed. We will work with our partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar,” he said in a social media post.

The International Criminal Court and Ukraine have called on Mongolia to arrest Putin, who is suspected of involvement in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

ICC spokesman Fadi Al Abdullah told reporters that, like other countries that signed the Rome Statute that established the court, Mongolia has a duty to cooperate with the court.

Several NGOs backed the call on Monday, as Amnesty International Mongolia’s executive director, Altantuya Batdorj, said the country must arrest Vladimir Putin, a “fugitive from justice”.

Maria Elena Viñoly of Human Rights Watch said welcoming the Russian leader would be “an insult to the many victims of Russian forces’ crimes” in Ukraine.

On the other hand, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated last week that the Kremlin had no concerns on the issue.

“Of course, all aspects of the visit were carefully prepared,” he added, praising the excellent dialogue with our friends in Mongolia”.

When a country doesn’t meet its obligations to the ICC, the court can refer the matter to the Assembly of States Parties, which meets once a year, but any possible sanctions it issues are limited to verbal rebukes.

Other individuals have previously visited countries that signed the Rome Statute without any concern, such as former Sudanese President Omar al Bashir.

Mongolia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 and ratified it in 2002.

The Kremlin has consistently vehemently rejected the ICC’s charges against the Russian president, however Putin has avoided traveling to some countries for about a year and a half, missing, for example, the BRICS summit in South Africa in August 2023 and the G20 summit in India in September of the same year.

Putin visited China last May, North Korea in June and Azerbaijan in mid-August, countries that aren’t members of the International Criminal Court.

In Mongolia, Putin is expected to hold talks with his counterpart Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and take part in celebrations marking the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of the Soviet and Mongolian armed forces over the Japanese military during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.

The Russian President’s last visit to Mongolia was in September 2019.

This landlocked, resource-rich country, located in East Asia between Russia and China, covers a vast area three times the size of mainland France, and it has a population of just 3.4 million.

Putin’s visit came in the context of the United States’ declared desire to increase its influence in this country, where its Russian and Chinese competitors also aspire to increase their influence.