Putin Flouts International Law with Defiant Mongolia Visit, Avoids Arrest

Russian President Vladimir Putin took one more step towards consolidating his diplomatic ties to strengthen his position against his European rivals, with his visit to Mongolia in September 2024. The whole world had its eyes set on the visit because being a part of the International Criminal Court, Mongolian authorities were obliged to arrest Putin based on a warrant issued against him for war crimes including the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia, CNBC reported. But things played out differently and the Russian President ended his visit peacefully.

The decision of Mongolian authorities to not arrest Putin has invited a lot of criticism from Ukraine and its European allies, as per CNBC's report. Heorhii Tykhii, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry stated that Mongolia's decision to not arrest Putin attacks the sanctity of the ICC and the international criminal justice system, The Guardian reported.

“Mongolia allowed the indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes. We will work with partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar,” Tykhii wrote on X.

Political commentators were not shocked by Mongolia's decisions and had predicted this since Mongolia is dependent on Russia for 95% of its petroleum products, and risking its relationship with Russia by going through with the arrest could have led to costly consequences, as per experts. The dependency has been cited as a reason by many political commentators for Mongolia's silence on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

The Mongolian government shared why their relationship with Russia is important to them through a spokesperson. As per Politico, the spokesperson said, “Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and over 20% of electricity from our immediate neighborhood, which has previously suffered interruption for technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure our existence and that of our people.”

Instead of an arrest, Putin was given a red carpet welcome in Mongolia, as per The Guardian's report. He was greeted with an honor guard by Mongolian citizens, many of whom were dressed in their traditional garments. Putin met with President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, who hailed his visit and expressed happiness at the step forward in the relationship between the two nations. 

The focus of the meeting was the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which will transfer energy from Russia to China, as per CNBC's report. Russia and China are both immediate neighbors and also trading partners of Mongolia, where this pipeline would pass through.  

For Putin this trip is his way of countering the international isolation that he and his country have been facing due to the war in Ukraine, The Guardian reported. Prior to Ulaanbaatar, Putin visited China in May, North Korea as well as Vietnam in June, and Kazakhstan in July, with the same objective. In July 2023, he had to cancel his visit to a BRICS summit in Pretoria, because of concerns that South Africa as part of ICC, would be compelled to arrest him.

The Russian government was pleased that the visit was concluded smoothly and has become more confident in its pursuit to undermine ICC, Tass reported. “This whole story with the ICC ... cannot and will not be a limitation in the development of Russia’s relations with partner states that are interested in developing bilateral relations and covering international contacts,” Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.