Why was Putin not arrested in Mongolia?

On Monday, September 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia for a two-day official visit.

He was greeted by officials at Ulaanbaatar airport. According to the press service of the President of Russia, the parties discussed bilateral relations and current international and regional issues.

At the same time, the authorities of Mongolia were obligated by the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) to arrest Putin. In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russian children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova “in the context of the situation in Ukraine.”

According to the court’s statement, they “are allegedly responsible for a war crime involving the unlawful deportation of a population (children) from occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”

At that time, the Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.

The international organization Human Rights Watch called on Mongolia to arrest Putin.

Mongolia is a member of the ICC, but did not arrest Putin.

A government representative stated that “the country is in a state of energy dependence and adheres to a policy of neutrality.”

Ukraine has also called for Putin’s arrest in Mongolia.

Experts note that this visit is very important for Putin, as Russia intends to build a gas pipeline over 960 km long, which will pass through Mongolia to China. The projected capacity of the pipeline is 50 billion cubic meters per year.