The International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Mongolia that if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to the country next week, he needs to be arrested. Putin would be going to an ICC member country for the first time since a court order said he had to be taken in March 2023.
It is Putin’s fault, according to the ICC, that children from Ukraine have been illegally sent to Russia since the conflict started. Even though Ukrainian leaders want Mongolia to arrest Putin when he gets there, the Kremlin is not worried. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told us that the meeting was well-planned and emphasized how close Russia and Mongolia are to each other.
A spokesman for the ICC, Dr. Fadi el-Abdallah, said that the court depends on its member states, including Mongolia, to follow through on its orders. As a member of the ICC, Mongolia has to work with the court, which includes following arrest orders. On the same charges, the court has also told Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, to be arrested.
However, the ICC can only have power within the countries that are members. It cannot directly arrest suspects. As an ICC member, Mongolia has a responsibility to do what it needs to do. The court has told Mongolia to do its part.
The foreign ministry of Ukraine said they hoped Mongolia would agree that Putin was a war criminal and asked Mongolia to arrest him and send him to The Hague, where the ICC is based.
When the ICC order was released last year, Putin also canceled a trip to South Africa for the same reason. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that putting Putin in jail would be seen as a war statement by Russia. Reports say that both sides agreed that Putin should not go to the meeting.
The Mongolian government hasn’t said anything about it yet.
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