Mongolian police detained protestors on Tuesday, Sept. 3, near Ulaanbaatar’s Government Palace upon Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s official visit to the country.
Videos circulating on the internet show local protestors unfurling a long Ukrainian flag on an empty street, some holding anti-war placards and banners addressing Putin as a war criminal, before they were surrounded by local police and later arrested.
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According to AP News, the incident took place “behind barriers as Putin and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa walked up the red-carpeted steps of the Government Palace and bowed toward a statue of Genghis Khan.”
The publication added that other protestors “a few blocks west of the square” disbanded upon hearing the arrests.
Putin’s visit, at the invitation of 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. Mongolia has refused to honor the arrest warrant, citing the country’s reliance on Russian energy.
AP News said Putin and Khurelsukh discussed energy and infrastructure projects in Mongolia, such as “agreements on a power plant upgrade in Ulaanbaatar and on the supply of Russian aviation fuel to Mongolia,” as well as plans to develop the rail system between the two. Mongolia’s railways serve as a transit between China and Russia.
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It made no mention of Power of Siberia 2, a proposed trans-Mongolian gas pipeline linking northeast China and Russia that reportedly fell through.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized Mongolia for failing to fulfill its obligation to arrest Putin and vowed “consequences” for the Asian nation.
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