Ukraine wants to make sure that there are consequences for Mongolia for refusing to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He arrived there on 2 September. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Georgiy Tykhyi, on Twitter.
He noted that the Mongolian government’s refusal to arrest Putin is a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system.
“Mongolia has allowed an indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes. We will work with our partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar,” said Tychy.
What is known about Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia
The Russian president planned this visit at the invitation of Mongolian leader Ukhnagiin Khurelsukh. The country recognises the jurisdiction of the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, in turn, called on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and hand Putin over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The Kremlin was not worried about Putin’s possible visit to Mongolia, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing a comment by Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
And ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah said that Mongolia may not arrest the Russian leader if countries are forced to “violate treaty obligations” with another state or if it violates “the diplomatic immunity of a person or property of a third state.” The exception is spelled out in Chapter IX of the Rome Statute, the court representative explained.
What is known about the arrest warrant for Putin
on 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin and Russian Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. If they leave the territory of Russia for countries that are parties to the ICC and have ratified the Rome Statute, they should be arrested and brought to court, said Ukrainian Prosecutor General Kostin.