Mongolia will have to explain the non-execution of the ICC warrant against Putin: the prosecutor of the ICC

Mongolia will have to give an explanation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding its decision not to arrest Vladimir Putin during his visit to the country. This demand was voiced by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan v interview to the Russian BBC News service.
Karim Khan emphasized that Ulaanbaatar should officially answer why the warrant for Putin’s arrest, issued by the ICC in March 2023, was ignored.
“Negotiations are currently underway at the court level and judges may make recommendations if there is a lack of cooperation.”, Khan explained, adding that he did not want to predict possible solutions while the process was ongoing.
The prosecutor also emphasized that history has repeatedly shown how high-ranking officials, who were once considered untouchable, eventually ended up on trial. He recalled the examples of Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic and Slobodan Milosevic from Yugoslavia, as well as Charles Taylor from Sierra Leone, who at one time escaped justice but were eventually convicted by international tribunals.
A warrant for Putin’s arrest was issued on March 17, 2023, in connection with allegations of war crimes, including the deportation of Ukrainian children. However, according to Bloomberg, before his visit to Mongolia, Putin received guarantees that he would not be arrested.
Despite calls from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office to Mongolia to fulfill the international warrant and hand over Putin to the International Criminal Court, the Mongolian authorities refused to do so. According to the spokesperson of the Mongolian government, such a decision was dictated by the country’s economic dependence on Russia, in particular in the supply of oil products and electricity. After Putin’s visit, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin criticized the actions of Ulaanbaatar, stressing that such behavior undermines international law and the principles of justice.