The European Commission has called on the Mexican government to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the inauguration of newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum. This was stated by EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano in an interview with Euractiv, Komersant ukrainskyi
reports
Stano noted that Mexico’s membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) means that it is legally obliged to arrest Putin if he accepts the Latin American country’s invitation to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony on 1 October.
As a reminder, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin on 17 March 2023. From now on, the dictator has the official status of a suspect. Pre-Trial Chamber II issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, who is the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Affairs.
The arrest warrant from the ICC means that Putin can now be detained and brought to trial in 124 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute.
“Mexico has been a state party to the ICC since 2005, with the legal obligations that this entails. We therefore believe that Mexico will fulfil its obligations as a member of the ICC,” Stano said.
He added that Mexico participated in the peace summit in Switzerland in June, where “there was a consensus that Russia must end its war against Ukraine” and that “in successive votes at the UN, Mexico […] joined the overwhelming majority of the international community in condemning Russian aggression and calling on Russia to stop it”.
However, Stano noted that “Mexico, like all other countries, has the right to develop its international relations in accordance with its own interests”.
The EU official’s comments followed Ukraine’s demand that Mexico arrest Putin if he arrives in Mexico City.