Instead of being arrested, Putin was met with a guard of honor and a military band playing the national anthems of both Mongolia and Russia.
He was received on Tuesday by Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh at Genghis Khan Square in the capital Ulan Bator after arriving in the country the previous evening.
According to Politico Mongolia itself risks being prosecuted by the ICC for its inaction.
Protesters removed
A small group of protesters with a Ukrainian flag had turned up at the government buildings before the welcoming ceremony, but they were quickly removed by the police.
Mongolia is among the countries that recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC), which a year and a half ago issued an international arrest warrant for Putin as a result of the war in Ukraine, specifically for the deportation of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.
It is the first time Putin is testing whether he can travel to a country that formally has an obligation to extradite him, without being arrested.
As the country gets most of its fuel from Russia, it would almost be “suicide” to arrest Putin, says Mongolia expert Julian Dierkes to the news agency DPA.
Mongolia is also heavily dependent on its other neighboring country, China.
Invited to Brics
It is Putin’s first visit to Mongolia in five years. Here he will highlight, among other things, that it is 85 years since the Soviet Union and Mongolia’s joint victory over Japan, in Manchuria in north-east China. Thousands of soldiers were killed during a months-long battle in 1939.
On Tuesday, Putin also used the opportunity to invite Mongolia’s leader to the Brics countries’ next summit.
The meeting is held in the Russian city of Kazan at the end of October, and the heads of state from Brazil, South Africa, India and China are among the participants.
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2024-09-04 14:18:39
