Putin to visit Mongolia despite risk of arrest under ICC warrant
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March last year, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children. However, Kremlin has dismissed the accusation as "politically motivated."
Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia next week, despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest (File Photo) Ukraine has urged Mongolia to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit on September 3, citing an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. The Kremlin, however, stated it had no concerns about the trip.
As a member of the ICC, Mongolia is obligated to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he enters their territory.
“We urge the Mongolian authorities to comply with the binding international arrest warrant and hand over Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated on Telegram, Reuters reported.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March last year, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children. However, Kremlin has dismissed the accusation as “politically motivated.”
As per a report by Reuters, when asked on Friday if Moscow was concerned about Mongolia’s ICC membership, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded, “No, we have no concerns. We maintain a strong dialogue with our Mongolian friends.” He added that the visit and its aspects had been thoroughly discussed with Mongolian authorities.
Under the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), member states are required to detain individuals for whom the court has issued an arrest warrant if they enter their territory.
However, the ICC lacks its own enforcement mechanism. In a notable instance, then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was not arrested during his 2015 visit to South Africa, an ICC member state, leading to strong criticism from human rights activists and the country’s main opposition party.
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