Russian President Vladimir Putin has reached Mongolia amid the Ukraine war. This is the first time Putin is visiting a member country of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the war began in February 2022.
The ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Putin last year. Putin’s visit to Mongolia has once again raised demands for his arrest.
However, the Kremlin has denied the possibility of Putin’s arrest and said that it is fully confident about Putin’s visit.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is enraged by the grand welcome Putin received in Mongolia. It accused Mongolia of promoting Putin’s genocide in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is due to take part in an event on Tuesday marking the anniversary of the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian troops over the Japanese army in 1939.
During this official visit, Putin will also meet Mongolian leader Ukhnaa Khurelsukh. This is Putin’s first visit to an ICC member country after an arrest warrant was issued by the ICC about 18 months ago.
Mongolia is a member of the ICC and this court has issued an arrest warrant against Putin. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Putin for suspected war crimes in Ukraine.
The demand for Putin’s arrest arose again
Ukraine has demanded that Mongolia arrest Putin and hand him over to a court in The Hague. A spokesman for Putin said last week that the Kremlin (the office of the Russian President) had no concerns about Putin’s visit to Mongolia.
According to the rules of this court, if the person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued sets foot in any ICC member country, then it is the responsibility of that country to arrest him. But the court does not have an enforcement mechanism to implement its orders.
Before Putin’s arrival in Mongolia, a protest also took place in the capital Ulaanbaatar on Monday afternoon. The protesters demanded that Putin be thrown out of here.
Relations between Mongolia and Russia
Mongolia is a sparsely populated country between Russia and China and is heavily dependent on Russia for fuel and electricity and on China for investment in its mining industry.
Putin received a grand welcome when he arrived in Ulaanbaatar earlier Monday night. The capital Ulaanbaatar was decorated with Mongolian and Russian flags on Tuesday for Putin’s first visit to the country in five years.
Ukraine flares up on Mongolia
Putin’s welcome on Mongolian soil is being seen as a standoff against Kiev, the West and its allied groups.
Ukraine has reacted with anger to Putin’s visit and accused Mongolia of covering up Putin’s “war crimes”.
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