EPARussian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Mongolia, his first go to to an Worldwide Felony Court docket (ICC) member because it issued a warrant for his arrest final yr.
He was welcomed by Mongolia’s chief at a lavish ceremony within the Asian nation’s capital Ulaanbaatar on Tuesday.
The Russian chief is needed by the court docket for the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian kids.
A spokesperson from the Kremlin stated it was not involved Mr Putin could be arrested through the go to.
Troopers on horseback lined the capital’s Genghis Khan Sq. as martial anthems had been performed by a dwell band to welcome the Russian chief, who met with the Mongolian president Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh.
A small group of protesters gathered on the sq. on Monday afternoon, holding an indication demanding “Get Battle Felony Putin out of right here”.
One other protest is deliberate for noon Tuesday at Ulaanbaatar’s Monument for the Politically Repressed, which commemorates those that suffered underneath Mongolia’s decades-long Soviet-backed communist regime.
Different protestors had been prevented from getting near the Russian president on his arrival by safety forces.
Forward of his go to, Ukraine had urged Mongolia to arrest Mr Putin.
“We name on the Mongolian authorities to adjust to the necessary worldwide arrest warrant and switch Putin to the Worldwide Felony Court docket within the Hague,” the Ukrainian Overseas Ministry stated on Telegram.
The court docket alleged final yr that the Russian president was chargeable for struggle crimes, specializing in the illegal deportation of youngsters from Ukraine to Russia.
It has additionally issued a warrant for the arrest of Russia’s commissioner for kids’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for a similar crimes.
It alleges the crimes had been dedicated in Ukraine from 24 February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Moscow has beforehand denied the allegations and stated the warrants had been “outrageous”.
ReutersICC members are anticipated to detain suspects if an arrest warrant has been issued, however there isn’t a enforcement mechanism.
The Hague-based court docket final week stated members had “an obligation” to take motion. Mongolia has not publicly responded to Ukraine or the ICC’s name.
The previous Soviet satellite tv for pc state has maintained pleasant relations with Russia because the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
It has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and declined to vote on the battle on the United Nations.
The landlocked nation, which additionally borders China, additionally depends on Russia for fuel and electrical energy.
Russia has been in talks for years about constructing a pipeline to hold 50 billion cubic metres (bcm) of pure fuel a yr from its Yamal area to China through Mongolia.
The challenge, often known as Energy of Siberia 2, is a part of a method to compensate for the drop in fuel gross sales in Europe, following widespread boycott of Russian assets because of the invasion of Ukraine.
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