Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Mongolia’s decision to host Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for an official visit on Monday, despite the active International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.
Mongolia has been a ratifying party to the Rome Statute of the ICC since 2002 and thereby under a legal obligation to enforce ICC arrest warrants. During Putin’s meeting with the Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai on Tuesday, the authorities failed to execute the warrant.
The purpose of the meeting was to facilitate the development of a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” The Center for European Policy Analysis reports that Mongolia’s interest in maintaining a positive relationship with Russia is predicated by Mongolia’s economic dependence on Russia.
Ahead of the planned official visit of the Russian president, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement that called “on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.” Following Mongolia’s failure to execute the warrant, spokesperson of the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heorhii Tykhyi described the decision as a “heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system.”
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin in 2023, for the alleged facilitation of the unlawful deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia since 2022. Unlawful deportation and transfer of the population by an occupying power are considered war crimes under articles 8(2)(a)(vi) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute, which governs the jurisdiction of the ICC. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute and has not recognized the jurisdiction of the court.
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