Putin evades arrest warrant in Mongolia, Kremlin touts victory | Wilnesh News

The Kremlin showed a hint of complacency on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia earlier this week went off without a hitch despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

Putin received the red carpet treatment, met with Mongolia’s president and discussed trade ties and bilateral relations with a country he knew needed investment and would not stand in the way of an invasion of Ukraine.

But what are the Kremlin’s real benefits? Its leaders were not detained in the process.

As a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mongolia is obliged to arrest and detain Putin when he lands on Mongolian soil on Monday night. Since March 2023, he has been the subject of an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes related to the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

The Kremlin said it did not recognize the ICC arrest warrant and that Mongolia chose to ignore its obligation to arrest Putin during Putin’s state visit to Ulaanbaatar, leaving itself embroiled in conflicts with the ICC, Ukraine and Its European allies are in dire straits.

The visit was a complete success – Putin and Mongolian President Khürelsukh signed the Agreements on the supply of energy and petroleum products, reconstruction of power plants and environmental protection – The Kremlin says institutions like the International Criminal Court cannot limit Russia’s relations with “most countries around the world.”

According to Google, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said: “The whole saga with the International Criminal Court… cannot and will not become a problem for Russia with partners interested in developing bilateral relations and covering international engagements. constraints on the development of state-to-state relations. TASS.

He added: “Most people around the world have a broader vision of the prospects for international cooperation than the blinders on the ICC.”

Peskov concluded that “the majority of the world’s population shows great interest in this country”.

“We’re also interested,” he said.

Analysts say economically fragile Mongolia faces a stark choice: either comply with the ICC ruling or need to deepen lucrative ties with its powerful neighbor Russia, on which Mongolia depends largely for its oil and gas supplies. Mongolia also plans to build a natural gas pipeline connecting Mongolia top trading partner and neighboring countries Russia and China.

Russia, which is under severe sanctions from the West for its ongoing war in Ukraine, has been looking for ways to undermine global and Western institutions. A trip to Mongolia is another way to achieve this goal.

Elena Davlikanova, Democracy Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, Leave a Comment on Monday in Analysis The fact that Mongolia has chosen not to fulfill its obligations to the ICC “is the clearest demonstration of the West’s powerlessness in the face of the Kremlin’s realpolitik”.

“This will please Putin, who has a complete disdain for rules-based politics. Russia’s approach is to win at all costs, no matter the consequences. The West and the institutions it helped create lack the same focus or determination,” she added.

CNBC has contacted the Kremlin and the Mongolian government for further comment.

A Mongolian government spokesman told news website Politico on Tuesday that the country’s energy dependence on Russia has put it in a difficult position in its relations with Moscow.

“Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and more than 20% of its electricity from our neighboring regions, which have previously been disrupted due to technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure the survival of us and our people,” The spokesman said.