Russian President Vladimir Putin entered Mongolia this week without being arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC), in a major blow to the court's legitimacy.
Putin arrived in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, for an official visit late on Monday night and was greeted by Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh and flanked by a guard of honour.
Putin's visit is ostensibly to celebrate the victory of the Soviet-Mongolian allied forces over Japan in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939.
President Vladimir Putin to visit ICC member state for first time since arrest warrant issued for child abduction
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), accompanied by Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, walks in front of a guard of honor upon arrival at Ulaanbaatar airport. (Photo by NATALIA GUBERNATOROVA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
President Putin will spend four days in Mongolia and meet with leaders of various countries. President Putin's visit is attracting attention because Mongolia is a member state of the ICC, and the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin in March 2023 on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine.
President Putin has carefully avoided visiting any of the signatories to the Rome Statute. It is under the jurisdiction of the ICC. Until now.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the Russia-Mongolian summit in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Putin is on a four-day visit to eastern Russia and Mongolia. (Photo: Contributor/Getty Images)
Russia, along with other major countries such as the United States, China, India and Israel, has not signed the ICC and is therefore not accountable to it, but Putin should be arrested if he visits any country that is a signatory to the Rome Statute.
The Kremlin has denied speculation that Putin would be arrested during the trip, despite Mongolia having an obligation to act.
“There is nothing to be worried about. We are having an excellent dialogue with our Mongolian friends,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Moscow Times on Friday, adding that “all aspects of the visit have been carefully prepared.”
People carrying Ukrainian flags and banners took part in a protest in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, ahead of a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by BYAMBASUREN BYAMBA-OCHIR/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement, Ukraine called Putin a war criminal and stressed that child abduction was just “one of many crimes” he has committed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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“These individuals are guilty of a war of aggression against Ukraine and atrocities against the Ukrainian people,” Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a Telegram post.
“We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the mandatory international arrest warrant and hand over President Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” the ministry added.
Fox News Digital's Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
