The Russian President, Vladimir Putinmet this Tuesday at Ulaanbaatar with the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, as part of an official visit which contests the arrest warrant handed down against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Putin was received with all the honors on the square Genghis Khan from the capital of Mongolia, which celebrates the 85th anniversary of the victory of Mongolian and Soviet forces over Imperial Japan and is the official reason for the Russian visit.
During the meeting between the two leaders, Khurelsukh expressed his “gratitude” to Putin for the visit, the Mongolian Foreign Ministry reported, which also reported that the two “reviewed the current state of bilateral relations and discussed ways to improve cooperation in economic matters, particularly in the areas of fuel, energy, transport, the environment, culture, education and health.
According to the ministry, the two leaders “positively” highlighted the signing of an intergovernmental agreement for the supply of petroleum products and the preparation of design and budget documentation for the expansion and modernization project of thermal power plant No. 3.
Khurelsukh noted that the construction of the hydroelectric power station of the Eg River “is moving forward thanks to the joint efforts of both parties”, and welcomed the decision to create a joint working group to carry out an environmental assessment.
Putin with his Mongolian counterpart this Tuesday in Ulaanbaatar.
Reuters
Similarly, both sides expressed confidence that Free Trade Agreement The agreement to be signed later this year between Mongolia and the Eurasian Economic Union could “create new opportunities to expand the legal framework for trade and cooperation.”
Putin and Khurelsukh agreed on the importance of accelerating the creation of the Mongolia-Russia-China economic corridor, the ministry added.
For his part, the Russian president invited Khurelsukh to the BRICS summit, which will take place on October 22-24 in the city of Kazan: “This will be the first event of this level after the expansion of the organization and we hope that you will participate in the BRICS+ format,” Putin said, quoted by the official TASS agency.
Putin also invited his Mongolian counterpart to join the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany on May 9.
This is Putin’s first visit to an ICC member state since the body issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president last year for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, a move criticized by Moscow.
In 2023, Putin decided not to attend the summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies that was being held there. South Africa for fear of being arrested.
The ICC on Friday formally asked Mongolia, which signed the treaty in 2000 and ratified it in 2002, to cooperate with the court and arrest the Russian president.
Diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Russia date back to 1921, with embassies established in Ulaanbaatar and Moscow since 1922, underlining the bond between the two countries, now renewed amid growing international tensions.
