Despite the fact that Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last year, Putin is scheduled to visit the country next week.
Putin will be making his first visit to an ICC member state on September 3, as the Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant in March 2023, accusing the president of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children to Russia and territory under Russian control.
According to Russian official news agency RIA Novosti, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Friday that there were “no worries” regarding the visit.
“Putin will visit Mongolia, a member of the ICC, despite an arrest warrant”
On invitation from President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh of Mongolia, the visit is happening. Peskov remarked, “We have a wonderful dialogue with our friends from Mongolia.”
Members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are required to detain suspects for whom an arrest warrant has been issued if they enter their territory, as per the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty. Nevertheless, there is no enforcement mechanism in place at the court.
On Friday, the Ukrainian government demanded that Mongolia detain Putin upon his arrival.
In a statement, the foreign ministry said, “We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant.” “The Ukrainian side hopes that the Government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal.”
Putin’s arrest warrant was the first issued by the ICC against the head of one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
(AlJazeera)
