The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said Mongolian officials are “obliged” to arrest Vladimir Putin if he visits the country next week.
The visit, expected to take place on Tuesday, will be the Russian leader’s first visit to an ICC member state since the ICC ordered his arrest in March 2023.
The court charged Putin with war crimes and said he had failed to prevent the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia since the conflict began.
Although Ukrainian officials asked Mongolia to arrest Putin upon his arrival in the country, the Kremlin said it had “no concerns” about the visit.
“We have good relations with our Mongolian partners,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
“Of course, every aspect of the president’s visit has been carefully prepared.”
ICC spokesman Dr Fadi Abdullah told the BBC on Friday that the ICC relied on state parties, including Mongolia, to “implement its rulings”.
He said Mongolia, like other ICC signatories, had an “obligation to cooperate.” This includes complying with arrest warrants, such as the one issued by a court in 2023 for Putin’s arrest.
The court accused the Russian president of being responsible for war crimes and focused on the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. It also issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for the same crime.
The statement said that these crimes were committed in Ukraine starting on February 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion.
Moscow has previously denied the accusations and called the arrest warrant “outrageous.”
Dr Abdullah said ICC judges would investigate cases of “non-cooperation” by its signatories and inform the Assembly of States Parties, which could “take any measures it deems appropriate”.
The International Criminal Court has no power to arrest suspects and can only exercise jurisdiction within its member states.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it hoped Mongolia would “realize that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal” and called on the country’s authorities to arrest the Russian leader and hand him over to prosecutors in The Hague, Netherlands.
last year, Putin cancels visit to South Africa summit After the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant.
As a signatory to the court, South Africa is supposed to detain suspects on its territory, but President Ramaphosa has warned Russia that this would be seen as a declaration of war.
Ramaphosa said the Russian leader’s decision not to attend was “mutual”.
The BBC has contacted the Mongolian embassy for comment.
