Despite Mongolia’s membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest order for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin stated on Friday that it was not concerned about the country’s ability to detain Putin during his visit there the next week.
On Tuesday, Putin will visit Mongolia for the first time as an ICC member since a judge in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with the unjust deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.
“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Asked if Moscow had discussed the arrest warrant with Ulaanbaatar ahead of Putin’s trip, he said: “All aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.”
Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Ukraine on Friday urged Mongolia to arrest Putin when he visits the country.
“The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said.
“We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”
In December 2000, Mongolia ratified the Rome Treaty of the International Criminal Court.
If Putin were to walk onto one of the 124 ICC member states’ territories, he would be expected by the treaty to carry out the warrant.
However, the ICC lacks its own police force and must rely on member states’ cooperation in order to execute any arrest warrants.
If this is not done, the court will bring up the issue with the Assembly of State Parties, the ICC’s managing body, which convenes once a year.
