Russian President Vladimir Putin received a warm welcome from Mongolia’s president on Tuesday as the country did not adhere to international calls to arrest him on a warrant for alleged war crimes over the Ukraine conflict.
As he emerged from a car in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, Putin was met by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, as seen on video footage.
Putin added that relations between Russia and Mongolia “are developing in all areas” including the “political sphere and on economic matters.”
“Over the past four to five years, our countries and our peoples have jointly overcome the difficulties that befell us during this period,” Khurelsukh said, as reported by state-run media.
An International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued last year against Putin obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this past week that Moscow had no concerns about any warrant-related action in Mongolia because all aspects of the visit had been discussed in advance.
The Mongolian government relies heavily on Russia for energy and is dependent economically on Russia and China, its neighbors. The country, which was communist for decades, also had close ties with the Soviet Union before transitioning to a democracy and a more market-based economy in the 1990s.
A ‘Heavy Blow’
Not adhering to the ICC’s warrant requirement represents a “heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi wrote on X.“Mongolia allowed the indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes. We will work with partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar,” he said.
The ICC warrant accuses Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.
The EU said in a statement that it “regrets” that Mongolia didn’t comply with the ICC’s obligation, adding that it will express its “strongest support for efforts to ensure full accountability for war crimes and the other most serious crimes in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
“In this regard, the EU supports the investigations by the Prosecutor of the ICC in Ukraine and calls for full cooperation by all State Parties,” the statement added. “The EU reiterates its unwavering support to the ICC and for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”
About 120 countries signed the ICC’s statute more than two decades ago, but several nations—including the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel, and others—have not ratified it.
Earlier this year, the ICC drew controversy after its chief prosecutor signaled that it would seek a warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister, and the leaders of Hamas.
U.S. officials publicly decried the ICC statement.
