ULAANBAATAR - Human Rights Watch called on Mongolia to either deny entry to Russian President Vladimir Putin or arrest him, according to a statement by Maria Elena Vignoli from the non-governmental organisation's global justice unit on Monday.
"Mongolia would be defying its international obligations as an ICC member if it allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit without arresting him," Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.
"Welcoming Putin, an ICC fugitive, would not only be an affront to the many victims of Russian forces' crimes, but would also undermine the crucial principle that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law," Vignoli said.
According to the Kremlin, Putin arrived in the capital Ulaanbaatar on Monday evening. A meeting with Mongolian President Uchnaagiin Churelsuch is planned for Tuesday.
Putin travelled to the country at the Mongolian leader's invitation to strengthen cooperation between the two nations, according to a Kremlin statement, despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging war crimes in Ukraine.
The Russian leader is wanted by The Hague-based court for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children since his troops invaded the country in 2022.
Mongolia recognises the ICC and would be obliged to arrest Putin during his stay.
However, Moscow is unconcerned, seeing no danger for Putin because of the friendly relations between the two countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated.
Ukraine has reacted to the trip with fury.
On Monday it accused Mongolia of "sharing responsibility" for Putin's "war crimes".
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi called Mongolia's failure to arrest Putin a "heavy blow" to the ICC's legitimacy and said Kyiv would pressure for the country to be punished.
"Mongolia allowed the indicted criminal to escape justice, thereby sharing responsibility for his war crimes. We will work with partners to ensure that this has consequences for Ulaanbaatar," he said in a post on social media.
Kyiv had urged Mongolia to execute the arrest warrant, while the ICC said last week all its members had an "obligation" to detain those sought by the court.
Mongolia is striving to maintain balanced relationships with its powerful neighbours China and Russia as well as with the West.
Since Mongolia is also dependent on Russia, it is considered unlikely that the country would jeopardise its relations by arresting Putin.
Putin was welcomed by a guard of honour on Monday as he landed in Ulaanbaatar for the high-profile trip.
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival at an airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)
Kyiv last week urged Mongolian authorities to execute the arrest warrant, while the ICC said all its members had an "obligation" to detain those sought by the court.
But in practice there is little that can be done if Ulaanbaatar does not comply.
Sandwiched between Russia and China, Mongolia was under Moscow's sway during the Soviet era.
Since the Soviet collapse in 1991, it has sought to keep friendly relations with both the Kremlin and Beijing.
The country has not condemned Russia's offensive in Ukraine and has abstained during votes on the conflict at the United Nations (UN).
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023.
It said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that Putin "bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation" of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Kyiv says thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly deported from orphanages and other state institutions after Russian forces took control of swathes of the country in its 2022 invasion.
Media investigations have found evidence of Ukrainian children being adopted by Russian families and having their names changed, prompting allegations Moscow is trying to scrub their Ukrainian identity.
Russia says it moved some children from areas close to the fighting for their own protection.
It has dismissed the warrant as having no consequence, but this trip to Mongolia marks Putin's first to an ICC member in the 18 months since it was issued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Buddhist monastery Thubten Shedrub Ling in Kyzyl in the Republic of Tuva, Russia, on Monday. (Photo: Reuters)
Last year Putin called off a visit to a Brics summit in South Africa, another ICC member, after internal and external pressure on Pretoria to arrest the Russian leader should he attend.
Amnesty International warned on Monday that Mongolia's failure to arrest Putin could further embolden the ex-KGB spy, in power for almost a quarter of a century.
"President Putin is a fugitive from justice," Altantuya Batdorj, executive director of Amnesty International Mongolia said in a statement.
"Any trip to an ICC member state that does not end in arrest will encourage President Putin's current course of action and must be seen as part of a strategic effort to undermine the ICC's work."
Amid a backlash to the ICC after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mongolia was among 93 countries that signed a letter stating its "unwavering support" for the ICC "as an independent and impartial judicial institution".
In that statement, issued in June, the signatories also called on all ICC members "to ensure full cooperation with the Court for it to carry out its important mandate of ensuring equal justice for all victims of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression".
