Putin's Arrival in Mongolia and Human Rights Watch's Call for His Arrest

As Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, arrived in the capital of Mongolia, calls for his arrest based on an international warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) continue. Human Rights Watch on Monday evening urged Mongolian authorities to fulfill their international obligations by detaining Vladimir Putin. Maria Elena Vignoli, an official from Human Rights Watch, stated that if Mongolia does not arrest Vladimir Putin, it would be 'in violation of its international commitments as a member of the ICC.' The Russian President arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Monday evening. In recent days, several human rights organizations have called on Mongolia to execute the ICC's warrant for Putin's arrest, citing Mongolia's membership in the ICC. Meanwhile, Yuriy Tykhiy, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, described Mongolia's failure to arrest Putin as 'a heavy blow to the ICC and the international criminal justice system.' This Ukrainian official also emphasized that Kyiv will ensure through consultations with its partners that 'this incident will have consequences for Ulaanbaatar.' The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin last year on charges of war crimes related to the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. This warrant is enforceable in all 124 member countries of the court, but the ICC lacks the capacity and enforcement mechanisms to implement its rulings. This marks Putin's first visit to an ICC member country since the issuance of his arrest warrant. However, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, stated that Moscow is not concerned and does not see any danger to Vladimir Putin. Nevertheless, Mongolia has good relations with Russia, and according to Reuters, discussions regarding the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to China through Mongolia are expected to continue during Putin's visit.