Ukraine Vows ‘Consequences’ for Mongolia’s Refusal to Honor Putin’s ICC Arrest Warrant

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized Mongolia for failing to fulfill its obligation to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during the latter’s Tuesday visit to Ulaanbaatar, the country’s capital.

The visit, at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, marked the first time Putin set foot in an International Criminal Court (ICC) member state.

The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Putin, alongside Russia’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023 for their role in illegally deporting Ukrainian children.

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Tykhyi, called Mongolia’s failure to honor the arrest warrant a “heavy blow to the [ICC] and the international criminal justice system” on social media. 

“Mongolia allowed the indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes. We will work with partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar,” Tykhyi added in another social media update.

Mongolia became a signatory of the Rome Treaty of the ICC in December 2000. The ICC said last week that all its members have an “obligation” to detain those sought by the court.

Prior to the visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they “[had] a great dialogue” with Ulaanbaatar, and that “all aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.” 

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Putin’s visit, held to mark the 85th anniversary of Mongolian and Soviet forces’ victory against Imperial Japan, would see him meet with Khurelsukh.

Ahead of the trip, Putin pointed to a number of “promising economic and industrial projects” between the two countries in an interview with Mongolian newspaper Unuudur shared by the Kremlin.

Among those was the construction of the Trans-Mongolian gas pipeline linking China and Russia, he said. The project, known as Power of Siberia-2, reportedly fell through due to disagreements between Beijing and Moscow, according to earlier reports.