Mongolia explains refusal to arrest Putin
Mongolia refused to detain Russian President Vladimir Putin on a “war crimes warrant” because it is dependent on its neighbors for energy and maintains a policy of neutrality, according to a government spokesperson.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), Ukraine, and the EU all called on Ulaanbaatar to arrest the Russian leader during his visit to the country, citing a 2023 warrant for “forcible deportations” of Ukrainian children. Although Mongolia is a signatory party to the ICC, it did not do so.
“Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and over 20% of electricity from our immediate neighborhood, which have previously suffered interruption for technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure our existence and that of our people,” a government spokesperson told Politico EU via email on Tuesday.
“Mongolia has always maintained a policy of neutrality in all its diplomatic relations, as demonstrated in our statements of record to date,” the spokesperson added.
Putin traveled to Mongolia at the invitation of his counterpart, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, and met with top officials in Ulaanbaatar to discuss the two countries’ strategic partnership. The Russian president also attended the ceremony marking the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, a decisive victory of Soviet and Mongolian forces over the Imperial Japanese Army that secured the USSR’s eastern flank for most of WWII.
During their meeting, Putin invited his Mongolian counterpart to the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan next month. Khurelsukh has accepted the invitation.
By refusing to arrest Putin, Mongolia has chosen to share “responsibility for his war crimes,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgy Tykhy said on social media, adding that Kiev “will work with partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar.”
Mongolia is landlocked between Russia to the north and China to the south, and has maintained good relations with both Moscow and Beijing. Ulaanbaatar also signed the Rome Statute and joined the ICC in 2002, and one of its judges was appointed to the court earlier this year.
While the court could formally condemn Mongolia for failing to enforce its writ, it lacks the authority to impose penalties such as fines or sanctions.
Russia has said it considers the ICC’s warrant null and void, since it is not a party to the Rome Statute. Moscow has also rejected the accusations as absurd, arguing that evacuating civilians from a combat zone where they faced imminent danger from Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes was not a crime.
