Mongolia rolls out red carpet for Putin despite war crimes accusations

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia - Russian President Vladimir Putin was welcomed by honour guards and a red carpet in the Mongolian capital on Sept 3 on his first visit to an International Criminal Court (ICC) member since it issued a warrant for his arrest in 2023.

Mr Putin landed in Ulaanbaatar on the night of Sept 2 at the start of a high-profile trip seen as a show of defiance against the court, Kyiv, the West and rights groups that have all called for him to be detained.

He met Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Sept 3 at Ulaanbaatar’s imposing Genghis Khan Square, also known as Sukhbaatar Square, where a band played martial tunes and the two national anthems.

The Russian leader praised Mongolia’s “respectful attitude” and told Mr Khurelsukh the two nations had “close positions” on “many current international issues”.

Mr Putin is wanted by the Hague-based ICC for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children since his troops invaded the country in 2022.

Ukraine has reacted to the trip with fury, accusing Mongolia of “sharing responsibility” for Mr Putin’s “war crimes” after the authorities did not detain him at the airport.

The ICC said last week all its members had an “obligation” to detain those sought by the court.

In practice, there is little that can be done if Ulaanbaatar does not comply.

A vibrant democracy situated between giants Russia and China, Mongolia enjoys close cultural links to Moscow as well as a critical trading relationship with Beijing.

On the streets of Ulaanbaatar, Mr Altanbayar Altankhuyag, a 26-year-old economist, told AFP it would have been “immoral and improper” to arrest Mr Putin. “China and Russia both are very important to us as neighbours,” he said.

Mongolia was under Moscow’s sway during the Soviet era but has sought to keep friendly relations with both the Kremlin and Beijing since the Soviet collapse in 1991.

The country has not condemned Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and has abstained during votes on the conflict at the United Nations.

The Kremlin said last week it was not concerned that Mr Putin would be arrested during the visit.

“Obviously, there was no chance of arresting Putin,” said Mr Bayarlkhagva Munkhnaran, a political analyst and a former adviser in Mongolia’s National Security Council.

“In Ulaanbaatar’s view, the current ICC warrant-related scandal is a passing matter compared to the need to maintain secure and predictable relations with the Kremlin,” he said.

‘Get Putin out of here’

The Genghis Khan Square was decked out with huge Mongolian and Russian flags for Mr Putin’s first visit to the country in five years. The two leaders stood near Mongolian soldiers in traditional costume, some of them on horseback.

A day earlier, a small protest had gathered there, with a handful of demonstrators holding a sign demanding “Get war criminal Putin out of here”.

Tight security prevented another protest planned for Sept 3 from getting near Mr Putin.

“We tried to protest against war criminal Putin, but then here we were illegally detained for five hours,” Ms Tsatsral Bat-Ochir of the NoWar movement told AFP.

Police Colonel N. Batbayar said the activists had been held for ignoring warnings against entering a “security area established on the square during Putin’s visit”.

“This was not an arrest,” he said, adding that seven people had been taken in to give statements.

Other protesters gathered around a block from the Monument for the Politically Repressed, which honours those who suffered under Mongolia’s decades-long Soviet-backed communist regime.

Mr Putin’s visit is being held to mark the 85th anniversary of a decisive victory against Imperial Japan by Mongolian and Soviet forces.

Mongolia’s government has not commented on the calls to arrest Mr Putin.

But a spokesman for its president took to social media on Sept 1 to deny reports that the ICC had sent a letter asking it to execute the warrant when he visits.

Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. AFP