The Russian presidency is not afraid that Vladimir Putin will be arrested in Mongolia during his official visit next week due to the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), of which the Asian country is a member state.
“No, we are not worried (…) We maintain a great dialogue with our friends in Mongolia,” declared Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov when questioned today about concerns regarding a possible detention of the Russian leader in the neighboring country.
Peskov added that “all aspects of the visit have been carefully prepared.”
The visit scheduled for the 3rd has been announced on Thursday by the Kremlin, which made it known that Putin will meet with his Mongolian counterpart, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, in Ulaanbaatar, with whom he will “exchange views on bilateral relations and cooperation.”
The Russian head of state is traveling “at the invitation” of the Mongolian President, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, and will “participate in the celebrations of the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of the Soviet and Mongolian armed forces over the Japanese militarists” during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.
Vladimir Putin and Ukhnaa Khurelsukh will “exchange views on current international and regional issues,” the Russian presidency added, according to which “several bilateral documents” will be signed on this occasion.
This is Putin’s first trip to a country that is a member of the ICC since the entity issued an arrest warrant against the Russian leader last year, over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, a decision criticized by Moscow.
Mongolia signed the Rome Statute in 2000, before ratifying it in 2002.
Each member state is obligated to arrest anyone on its territory who is subject to an ICC arrest warrant, as is the case with Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has always firmly rejected the ICC’s accusations against the Russian President and against Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children’s rights, due to the deportation of children from the Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow following the invasion launched in February 2022.
However, Putin has taken care to avoid traveling abroad for almost a year and a half, for example, missing the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in South Africa in August 2023, and then missing the G20 summit in India in September of the same year.
On the other hand, he visited China in May, North Korea in June, and Azerbaijan in mid-August, but none of these countries are members of the ICC.
The last visit of the Russian President to Mongolia dates back to September 2019.
Mongolia, a country rich in natural resources, is located in East Asia, landlocked between Russia and China, and has a vast territory (three times the size of France). However, it has only 3.4 million inhabitants.
In early August, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, declared as “a central partner” of Washington in the region.
This visit was part of a stated desire by the United States to increase its influence in this vast country, which is also coveted by its Russian and Chinese rivals.