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The Kremlin has “no worries” regarding Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Mongolia, despite Ulaanbaatar’s obligation under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant to arrest the Russian president for alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine. “We have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented earlier today, as per state-run news agency RIA Novosti.
Peskov added that the logistics of Putin's September 3 visit to Mongolia had been “carefully coordinated.” The visit will mark his first trip to the Rome Statute signatory nation since the ICC issued its warrant in March 2023.
According to a Bloomberg report citing sources close to the Kremlin, Putin received assurances that he would not face arrest under the ICC warrant during his visit, even though the warrant obliges the court's 124 member states — which include Mongolia — to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
The news prompted a swift reaction from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, which issued the following statement on Telegram:
“The Ukrainian side hopes that the Government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. A warrant was issued for his arrest on suspicion of the illegal forced transfer of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation by the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction is recognized by Mongolia. [...] We call on the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in the Hague.”
Mongolia, a signatory of the Rome Statute, saw one of its judges, Justice Erdenebalsuren Damdin, elected to the ICC for the first time in 2023. Mongolia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the election as a reflection of the “faith the international community places in our candidate.” Justice Erdenebalsuren Damdin will serve his term at the ICC from 2024 to 2033.
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and its Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. This marks only the third time in the history of the ICC that a warrant has been issued for a sitting head of state. Previous warrants were issued for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2009 and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Since his own warrant was issued, Putin has avoided visiting countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. He declined to travel to the BRICS summit in South Africa — an ICC member state — in person in July last year, opting instead to attend via video link.
In March of this year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russia’s long-range aviation commander Sergei Kobylash and Black Sea Fleet commander Viktor Sokolov. Both commanders are wanted for multiple alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including directing attacks against civilian objects and causing excessive incidental harm to civilians.
In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for then-Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and General Staff head Valery Gerasimov — the two most senior military figures responsible for coordinating Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine — on charges similar to those made against Kobylash and Sokolov.