The Hague is investigating why Mongolia did not arrest Putin during his visit to the country

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is studying Mongoliaʼs decision not to arrest Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Mongolia, as a member of ICC, was obliged to do this, because there is a warrant for his arrest.

This was reported by the ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdalla at a meeting with Ukrainian journalists, the correspondent of Babel from The Hague reports.

He noted that the judges are considering Mongoliaʼs cooperation with the International Criminal Court due to the fact that Putin was not detained in this country.

"The only thing I know now is that the legal proceedings regarding cooperation with Mongolia are still ongoing. What their result might be is up to the judges to decide, they havenʼt made their decision public yet," Fadi el Abdallah added.

And he emphasized that the judges can decide that the state complied with the requirements for cooperation with ICC or that there was no such cooperation and that it is necessary to inform the assembly of participating states. The assembly can then do whatever it deems necessary to persuade Mongolia to cooperate and comply.

What preceded

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and the Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights in the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegally deporting Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia, which is a war crime. Putin and Lvova-Belova should be arrested as official suspects in countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. De jure, 123 countries are closed to them, including Mongolia, which ratified it in 2002.

After issuing the warrant, Putin traveled only to Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, China, the DPRK, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Azerbaijan. These countries have not ratified the Rome Statute, so they are not obliged to comply with the ICCʼs order.

However, during Putinʼs visit to Mongolia on September 2-3 (which is his first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court after the issuance of a warrant for his arrest), he was not arrested. As later explained in Mongolia, allegedly due to the countryʼs dependence on Russian energy products.

• The International Criminal Court stated that Mongolia would have to explain to The Hague its refusal to arrest Putin.

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