Kremlin dismisses concerns over Putin’s potential arrest in Mongolia amid ICC warrant
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that there are no concerns regarding Vladimir Putin's trip to Mongolia, which acknowledges the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). "No, no concerns," Peskov said on Friday, August 30, when asked by reporters if the Kremlin is worried about Putin's upcoming visit.
Peskov emphasized that the Kremlin has a "wonderful dialogue with our friends in Mongolia." When questioned about any negotiations with Mongolian authorities regarding the ICC warrant, Peskov responded, "Naturally, all aspects of the visit have been meticulously prepared". According to two Bloomberg sources, Mongolia has assured Putin that he will not be arrested under the ICC warrant.
The Kremlin announced Putin’s upcoming visit to Mongolia on August 29. He will visit Mongolia on September 3 at the invitation of the country's president, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, to participate in events commemorating the 85th anniversary of the joint Soviet-Mongolian victory over Japanese armed forces at the Khalkhin Gol river.
This will mark Putin's first visit to a country that signed the Rome Statute of the ICC since the court issued an arrest warrant against him in March 2023. Mongolia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 and ratified it in 2002. Officially, ICC member states are required to enforce the warrant and detain Putin. However, Mongolia’s landlocked position and its borders only with Russia and China complicate the hypothetical process of transporting Putin to The Hague in case of his arrest and extradition.
The ICC suspects Putin of war crimes, specifically the forcible deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.
As indicated in the ICC statement on March 17, 2023, there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Russian president holds individual criminal responsibility for these crimes - directly, jointly with others, or through others - and for his "failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts or allowed them to be committed and who were under his effective authority and control".