Putin arrives in Mongolia, Ukrainian lawmakers call for his arrest

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in Mongolia.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Sept. 2, amid calls from Ukrainian lawmakers for the country to execute an international arrest warrant and detain the Russian president.
Video published by Russian state media showed Putin’s plane landing before he disembarked with a guard of honor.
A group of Ukrainian lawmakers from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party have written an open letter to their Mongolian counterparts, urging the arrest of Putin during the visit.
“As members of the Ukrainian parliament, we call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and hand over the head of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague,” the letter dated Aug.31, reads.
“The Rome Statute is the key international treaty that established the International Criminal Court. This document is the basis of global efforts to strengthen the rule of law and prevent impunity, in particular for war crimes.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 for the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia from areas of Ukraine that Russia has occupied since its full-scale invasion launched in early 2022.
Putin is visiting Mongolia at the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, his first trip to an ICC member country that has ratified the Rome Statute, which obligates signatories to arrest him if he enters their territory.
“Putin’s visit to Mongolia is a well-planned provocation,” Oleksandr Merezhko, Ukrainian MP and chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs policy, and one of the signatories of the letter, told the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 2.
“He wants to show that no one cares about the ICC’s arrest warrant. If there is no reaction to his provocation then the ICC’s reputation will be badly damaged. And it will show the weakness of international law in general,” added Merezhko, one of six lawmakers from Zelensky’s Servant of the People party who signed the letter.
The letter follows an Aug. 30 public statement by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry that also urged Mongolia to arrest Putin.
“The Ukrainian Side hopes that the Government of Mongolia is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal … The abduction of Ukrainian children is just one of numerous crimes for which Putin and the rest of the Russian military and political leadership must be brought to justice,” it read.
“We call on the Mongolian authorities to execute the binding international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” the ministry statement added.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Aug. 30 that the visit is being prepared “carefully,” adding that the Russian government has “no concerns” about the trip.
“We have a great dialogue with our friends in Mongolia,” Peskov told Russian state-controlled media outlet Sputnik.
Last year, the Russian president skipped the BRICS summit in South Africa after the host country indicated it would have to comply with the ICC warrant.
Mongolia has not actively supported Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine but has also refrained from voting to condemn it at the United Nations.