Russian President Vladimir Putin was greeted with a guard of honour and a red carpet in the capital of Mongolia, a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Euractiv.
Putin landed in Ulaanbaatar on Monday night at the start of a high-profile trip seen as a challenge to an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. The Russian leader met with his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh on Tuesday at Genghis Khan Square in Ulaanbaatar.
Meanwhile, Ukraine reacted violently to the trip, accusing Mongolia of “sharing responsibility” for Putin’s alleged “war crimes” after authorities failed to detain him at the airport.
Today, Putin humiliated Mongolia by cynically using it as a bargaining chip in his geopolitical game. By refusing to arrest Putin, Mongolia has deliberately jeopardised its international standing.
A European Union spokesperson said the bloc “regreted” that Mongolia “did not comply with its obligations” under the Rome Statute that established the ICC. The US, which is not a member of the ICC and has increasingly close ties with Mongolia, expressed hope that Mongolian officials would voice their concerns to Putin, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
“We understand the position that Mongolia is in – sandwiched between two much larger neighbours – but we do think it’s important that they continue to support the rule of law.”
Moscow said last week it was not concerned about Putin’s arrest during the visit. Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva, a political analyst and former adviser on Mongolia’s National Security Council, stated:
Obviously there was no chance of arresting Putin. In Ulaanbaatar’s view the current ICC warrant-related scandal is a passing matter compared to the need to maintain secure and predictable relations with the Kremlin.
Putin’s visit comes to mark the 85th anniversary of the decisive victory of Mongolian and Soviet troops over Imperial Japan.
