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Last night, Russian President Vladimir Putin took time out of his busy schedule of taking over portions of Ukraine and building ties with the New Axis of Evil to fly to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. He went there to meet with the country’s president, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh. He is scheduled to attend a state reception and engage in trade talks. But there is one wrinkle to this story that is drawing additional scrutiny. Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the provisions of the Rome Statute. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes against Ukrainians so Mongolia was technically obligated to arrest Putin as soon as he landed and turn him over to the court in The Hague. But that didn’t happen. Putin was instead given a royal welcome and now the ICC is left with a black eye as they debate what next steps might be taken. (CNBC)
There’s nothing remarkable about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia on Tuesday — he’s due to meet the country’s leader, hold talks on developing bilateral ties and attend a gala reception.
What is unusual is that Mongolia, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), should have arrested the Russian president as soon as he landed on Mongolian soil Monday evening.
