Russian leader Putin challenges international warrant for his arrest with visit to Mongolia

Russian President Putin visits Mongolia amid international warrant controversy, highlighting the delicate balance between politics and international law.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia on Tuesday (September 3, 2024) with no sign that the host country would bow to calls to arrest him on an international warrant for alleged war crimes stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The trip is Mr. Putin’s first to a member country of the International Criminal Court since it issued the warrant about 18 months ago. Ahead of his visit, Ukraine called on Mongolia to hand Mr. Putin over to the court in The Hague, and the European Union expressed concern that Mongolia might not execute the warrant. A spokesperson for Mr. Putin said last week that the Kremlin wasn’t worried.

The warrant puts the Mongolian government in a difficult position. After decades under communism with close ties to the Soviet Union, it transitioned to democracy in the 1990s and has built relations with the U.S., Japan and other new partners. But it remains economically dependent on its two much larger and more powerful neighbours, Russia and China. Russia supplies the landlocked country with most of its fuel and a sizeable amount of its electricity.

The ICC has accused Mr. Putin of being responsible for the abductions of children from Ukraine, where the fighting has raged for 2½ years. Member countries are required to detain suspects if an arrest warrant has been issued, but Mongolia needs to maintain good relations with Russia and the court lacks a mechanism to enforce its warrants.

The Russian leader was welcomed in the main square in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, by an honor guard dressed in vivid red and blue uniforms styled on those of the personal guard of 13th century ruler Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire.

A throng of onlookers watched from behind temporary barriers as Putin and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa walked up the red-carpeted steps of the Government Palace and bowed before a statue of Genghis Khan before entering the building for their meetings.

A small group of protesters who tried to unfurl a Ukrainian flag before the welcome ceremony were taken away by police. Five others who gathered a few blocks west of the square held up an anti-Putin banner and Ukrainian flag but disbanded after hearing about the arrests.