Kremlin Says Not Worried Putin Could Be Arrested in ICC Member Mongolia

The Kremlin said Friday it was not worried that Mongolia could arrest President Vladimir Putin during his visit next week to the member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued a warrant for the Russian leader.

Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, in a first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.

“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 

Asked if Moscow had discussed the arrest warrant with Ulaanbaatar ahead of Putin’s trip, he said: “All aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.”  

Ukraine on Friday urged Mongolia to arrest Putin when he visits the country.

“The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said.

“We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

Mongolia became a signatory of the Rome Treaty of the ICC in December 2000.

Under the treaty, each ICC member would be expected to implement the warrant if Putin were to set foot on its territory. 

Moscow has brushed off the warrant but Putin – while already vastly scaling down foreign visits since launching the Ukraine offensive in 2022 – has not traveled to ICC member states until now. 

Putin is visiting for the 85th anniversary of a battle between Japan and Soviet and Mongolian forces during Japanese occupation of nearby Manchuria.