Putin to Visit Country That Must Arrest Him According to Hague Court Ruling

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to Mongolia on September 3. By the invitation of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, Putin will participate in the solemn events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian soldiers over the Japanese at the Khalkhin Gol River, as reported by the Kremlin's press service.

Putin is expected to discuss the development of "Russian-Mongolian comprehensive strategic partnership relations," and will hold meetings with Chairman of the Mongolian Parliament Dashaagay Amarbaysgalan and Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene.

This visit will mark Putin's first trip to Mongolia, where he is expected to be arrested under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2023, according to The Moscow Times. Mongolia ratified the Rome Statute, the main document governing the ICC, in 2002, and in 2023, a representative from the country was elected as an ICC judge for a two-year term.

The Kremlin has not officially commented on the possibility of Putin's arrest, who faces accusations of war crimes from the ICC for the "illegal deportation" of children and people from occupied Ukrainian territories.

Last year, Putin canceled his visit to the BRICS summit scheduled in South Africa, a country that is also a member of the ICC, after the South African authorities first privately, and then publicly, requested the Russian president not to attend the event and to limit his participation to a video link. Instead, the Russian delegation at the event was led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.