MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday it was not worried that Mongolia could arrest President Vladimir Putin during his visit there next week, despite it being a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued a warrant for the Russian leader.

Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, in a first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.

“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Asked if Moscow had discussed the arrest warrant with Ulaanbaatar ahead of Putin’s trip, he said: “All aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.” Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.

Ukraine on Friday urged Mongolia to arrest Putin when he visits the country. “The Ukrainian side hopes that the government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal,” Kyiv’s foreign ministry said.

“We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.”

Mongolia became a signatory of the Rome Treaty of the ICC in December 2000. Under the treaty, any of the 124 ICC member states would be expected to implement the warrant if Putin were to set foot on its territory.

However, the ICC has no police of its own and relies on the cooperation of its member states to carry out any arrest warrants. Failure to do so will prompt the court to report the matter to the ICC’s managing body called the Assembly of State Parties, which meets once a year.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2024