President Vladimir Putin arrived on an official visit to Mongolia, the Kremlin announced Monday. This visit marks Putin’s first journey to a member nation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the court issued a warrant for his arrest in March 2023 over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s official statement notes that Putin was invited by Mongolia’s President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh to participate in ceremonies commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Soviet and Mongolian forces’ victory against Japanese troops at the Khalkhin Gol River. During his visit, Putin is also scheduled to engage in discussions with President Khurelsukh and other high-ranking Mongolian officials.
Despite the ICC arrest warrant, the Kremlin asserts that it does not recognise the Court’s jurisdiction and has not commented on the possibility of President Putin’s arrest in Mongolia. The Rome Statute outlines obligations for member states to arrest individuals based on ICC requests and cooperate fully in investigations and prosecutions. However, the ICC’s enforcement relies on the cooperation of its member states. Notably, the non-arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in South Africa in 2015 despite an ICC warrant underscores the Court’s enforcement challenges, making it uncertain if Mongolia would arrest Putin during his visit.
The International Federation for Human Rights has sent an open letter to the President of Mongolia urging the arrest of Putin, citing Article 27(2) of the Rome Statute which states that individuals are not exempt from arrest and prosecution due to official capacity. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, also expressed criticism on X, calling Mongolia’s failure to enact the ICC warrant a “heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system,” and suggesting that this decision might have repercussions for Ulaanbaatar.
In 2020, the Parliament of Mongolia ratified a bill ratifying the 2010 Amendment to the Rome Statute, adding a definition of crimes of aggression and the conditions under which it would exercise jurisdiction over these crimes, further complicating the diplomatic balance Mongolia finds itself navigating with this visit from Putin.