Putin Arrives in Mongolia in Defiance of I.C.C. Arrest Warrant

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The Russian president is making a state visit to a country that is heavily dependent on Moscow for oil.

In this photograph distributed by Russian state media, President Vladimir V. Putin is accompanied by Battsetseg Batmunkh, Mongolia’s foreign minister, upon Mr. Putin’s arrival at the airport in Ulaanbaatar.Credit…Natalia Gubernatorova/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Sept. 2, 2024, 2:14 p.m. ET

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Mongolia late Monday night for his first state visit to a member of the International Criminal Court since it issued a warrant for his arrest in March 2023.

The court accused Mr. Putin and his commissioner for children’s rights of being personally responsible for the “unlawful deportation” and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.

In advance of Mr. Putin’s trip, the I.C.C. stated that Mongolia was obligated to arrest Mr. Putin, but Mongolia is heavily dependent on Russia for fuel, and an arrest was considered extremely unlikely.

The Kremlin has shrugged off the possibility.

“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, told reporters on Friday, noting that “all aspects of the visit have been thoroughly prepared.”

Mr. Putin was greeted by what appeared to be a Mongolian military guard at the airport and was spending the night in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, a sign that he is comfortable being in the country.

Image

A demonstrator holds a Ukrainian flag outside the Government Palace in Ulaanbaatar to protest the visit by President Putin to Mongolia.Credit…Rentsendorj Bazarsukh/Reuters

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