The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday called on Mongolia to cooperate with the court and arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the country on September 3.
The official visit to Mongolia will be Putin’s first to an ICC member state since the court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader last year for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, a move criticized by Moscow.
In this regard, the Court recalled in a statement that Mongolia is a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and that, precisely, it depends on its States Parties and other partners to implement its decisions, including in matters of arrest warrants. “States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC have an obligation to cooperate in accordance with Chapter IX of the Rome Statute, while non-States Parties may decide to cooperate voluntarily,” the Court recalls.
The Court warned that “in the event of a lack of cooperation, the ICC judges may make a finding in this regard” and inform the Assembly of States Parties, which will then adopt “the measures it deems appropriate.”
For its part, the Kremlin indicated on Friday that it did not fear that Putin would be arrested in Mongolia during his upcoming official visit to Mongolia, where he will meet in Ulaanbaatar with his Mongolian counterpart, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, with whom he will “exchange views” on bilateral relations and cooperation.
“No, we are not worried (…) We have a wonderful dialogue with our friends in Mongolia,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov concluded when asked if there were any fears about a possible arrest of the Russian president in the country. Peskov added that “every aspect of the visit was carefully prepared.”
During his visit, Putin will also take part in a commemorative event for the 85th anniversary of the Battle of the Khalkh River, in which Soviet and Mongolian troops clashed with Japanese forces.
Mongolia, although a satellite of the Soviet Union, has strengthened its ties with the United States and neighboring China since the mid-1990s, both interested in its mineral resources.
