Russian President Vladimir Putin was given a red carpet reception on Tuesday (3) on a state visit to Mongolia, whose failure to act on an International Criminal Court arrest warrant was criticized by Ukraine as a blow to justice.
Stepping out of his limousine in the capital Ulaanbaatar, Putin was greeted by his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in front of a line of ceremonial guards on horseback wearing spiked helmets.
The Kremlin leader stopped to kiss a young woman who came forward to greet him in Russian and present him with flowers.
An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued last year against Putin obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Mongolia’s failure to act on this was “a heavy blow to the International Criminal Court and the criminal law system,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi said.
“Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for war crimes,” he wrote on Telegram. Ukraine, he said, would work with its allies to ensure Mongolia felt the consequences.
The ICC warrant accuses Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week he was not concerned about any action related to the warrant, as Russia had a “large dialogue” with Mongolia and all aspects of the visit had been discussed in advance.
“Relations with Mongolia are among the priorities of our foreign policy in Asia. They have been brought to a high level of comprehensive strategic partnership,” Putin told Khurelsukh.
The Mongolian leader said he hoped the visit would increase trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Mongolia is on the planned route of a massive pipeline that Russia wants to build to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from its Yamal region to China.
The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia’s strategy to make up for the loss of most of its gas sales to Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name that already supplies Russian gas to China and is expected to reach its capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year by 2025.
The new venture has long been mired in major issues such as gas prices. However, Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and engineering studies, was proceeding as planned.
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This content was originally published in Mongolia ignores ICC arrest warrant and gives Putin a luxurious reception on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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