Russian President Vladimir V. Putin received a warm welcome from Mongolia’s leader on Tuesday in his first state visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest last year.
Instead of arresting Mr. Putin, as the ICC, Ukraine and human rights groups have urged, Mongolia, which is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy needs, gave the Russian leader a red-carpet welcome in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Mr. Putin was greeted by an honor guard, some on horseback, whose uniforms were inspired by the 13th-century Mongol ruler Genghis Khan.
After a formal welcome, Mr. Putin and Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh held talks in a traditional yurt at the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar.
“Relations between the Russian Federation and Mongolia are developing in all directions,” Mr. Putin said during the public part of the meeting, according to the Russian state news agency, RIA Novosti.
Mr Khurelsukh expressed his appreciation to Mr Putin for his first visit in five years.
“It is pleasing to note that relations between our countries and peoples are traditionally friendly and have reached the level of comprehensive strategic partnership,” he continued.
Mongolia, which depends on Russia for 95 percent of its petroleum products, has refrained from condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine and abstained from United Nations votes on the conflict. Mongolia was one of the top destinations for Russians fleeing the country in 2022 after the war broke out and the Kremlin announced a mobilization campaign.
Officials in Ukraine, which has been under intense missile and drone attacks for the past week and a half, expressed outrage at Mr. Putin’s visit.
“The Mongolian government’s failure to implement the binding ICC arrest warrant for Putin is a huge blow to the International Criminal Court and the international criminal justice system,” said Georgiy Tikhi, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. wrote On X.
“Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for war crimes. We will work with partners to ensure this delivers results for Ulaanbaatar.”
The Mongolian government has not commented on calls to arrest Mr Putin.
In March 2023, the ICC issued a warrant for Mr. Putin’s arrest, accusing him of committing war crimes, including the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children. The court also issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights.
Russia, like the United States, does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court, which is located in The Hague, Netherlands. However, Mongolia is one of the 124 signatories to the Rome Statute, which governs membership in the International Court of Justice.
Mr. Putin’s visit underscores at home that Western efforts to turn him into a global pariah have not been effective since he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He brought a large delegation to Ulaanbaatar, including Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Fomin, as well as top officials from the energy, foreign affairs, transport and other ministries.
Executives from several major state companies, including the country’s sovereign wealth fund, Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation and Rosneft Oil Company, were also part of his entourage. The heads of the Russian regions of Buryatia and Irkutsk, which border Mongolia, were also present.
On Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Energy and Mongolia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources signed an agreement on the supply of oil products as well as aviation fuel to Mongolia, Russia’s Interfax agency reported.
Mr. Putin said, according to Interfax.
Since the rubber-stamp election in March, Mr. Putin has made seven foreign trips China, North KoreaVietnam, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Throughout 2023, Mr. Putin made six foreign trips, including to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. He refused to travel Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — South Africa for the summit of the BRICS group of countries last year because South Africa is also part of the ICC.
According to Mongolian news outlets, a small group of protesters gathered at central Genghis Khan Square on the eve of Mr. Putin’s visit, some holding posters calling Mr. Putin a war criminal. A heavy security perimeter prevented any protesters from approaching the square on Tuesday, and six people were briefly detained.
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