For war crimes

Putin travels to Mongolia: Appeal for arrest

Vladimir Putin travels to Mongolia. He probably does not have to fear arrest.

(Bild: AP)

One day before Vladimir Putin's visit, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch has called on Mongolia to ban Russia's ruler from entering the country or to arrest him.

"Mongolia would be violating its international obligations as a member of the International Criminal Court if it allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit without arresting him," said Maria Elena Vignoli of Human Rights Watch.

According to information from Moscow, Putin is traveling to the country on Tuesday at the invitation of Mongolian President Uchnaagiin Chürelsüch in order to expand cooperation with his neighbor - despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Kremlin sees no danger for Putin
Mongolia recognizes the ICC and would actually have to arrest Putin during his stay in Ulan Bator. However, Moscow is relaxed about this and sees no danger for Putin due to the friendly relations between the two countries, as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained. This is Putin's first trip to a country that is a member of the court in The Hague since the start of his war of aggression against Ukraine.

Mongolia strives to maintain a balanced relationship with its powerful neighbors China and Russia, as well as with the West. Because Mongolia is also dependent on Russia, it is considered unlikely that the country would jeopardize relations by arresting Putin.

International arrest warrant for war crimes
The ICC, based in The Hague, has been prosecuting particularly serious offenses such as war crimes since 2002. It began investigations immediately after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin personally for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

This was issued for the "unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children to Russia. The World Criminal Court itself has no means of executing arrest warrants. However, all states parties to the court are obliged to arrest the wanted persons and hand them over to the court if they are on their territory.