Putin to travel to Mongolia next week despite an ICC warrant for his arrest

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Mongolia next week, the Kremlin said Thursday, despite the country being a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest.

The visit, scheduled for Sept. 3, will be Putin’s first trip to an ICC member state since the warrant was issued in March 2023 over suspected war crimes in Ukraine.

Under the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, ICC members are bound to detain suspects for whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the court, if they set foot on their soil.

But the court doesn’t have any enforcement mechanism. In a famous case, then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir wasn’t arrested in 2015 when he visited South Africa, which is a member of the court, sparking angry condemnation by rights activists and the country’s main opposition party.

The Kremlin, which had previously stressed that it doesn’t recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, didn’t comment on the prospects of Putin being arrested in Mongolia.

According to the Kremlin’s online statement, Putin will travel to Mongolia upon the invitation of President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh “to participate in the ceremonial events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of the Soviet and Mongolian armed forces over the Japanese militarists on the Khalkhin Gol River.” Putin will also hold talks with Khurelsukh and other top Mongolian officials, the statement read.

The ICC has accused Putin of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine, where Moscow has fought a devastating war for the last 2½ years.

It was the first time the global court has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. The ICC