Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red carpet welcome on Tuesday for a state visit to Mongolia, whose failure to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant was criticised by Ukraine as a blow to justice.
Stepping out of his limousine in the capital Ulaanbaatar, Putin was greeted by his Mongolian counterpart, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, in front of a row of ceremonial guards on horseback wearing pointed helmets.
The Kremlin leader leaned over to kiss a young woman who stepped forward to greet him in Russian and hand him flowers.
An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued last year against Putin obliges the court's 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.
Mongolia's failure to act on the matter was “a serious blow to the International Criminal Court and the criminal law system,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi.
“Mongolia has allowed a criminal defendant to evade justice, thereby sharing responsibility for war crimes,” he wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ukraine, he said, will work with its allies to ensure Mongolia suffers consequences.
The United States, which is not a member of the ICC and is interested in developing relations with Mongolia as an important source of rare earth minerals needed for high-tech applications, also criticized Ulaanbaatar.
“We do not believe any country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression against Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a regular news briefing.
“We hope that Mongolia will honour its commitment and support to the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty and territorial integrity, and convey that these principles must be upheld worldwide,” he said.
Miller said Washington understood Mongolia's position between two larger neighbours, China and Russia, but added: “We think it's important that they continue to support the rule of law around the world.”
Although the United States is not a member of the ICC, it supported the court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin.
The ICC arrest warrant accuses Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin has rejected the charge, saying it is politically motivated.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Moscow had no concerns about any action in connection with the order as Russia had maintained a “great dialogue” with Mongolia and all aspects of the visit had been discussed in advance.
“Relations with Mongolia are one of the priorities of our foreign policy in Asia and have reached a high level of comprehensive strategic partnership,” Putin told Khurelsukh.
The Mongolian leader said he hoped the visit would boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
Mongolia lies on the planned route of a massive gas pipeline that Russia wants to build to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from its Yamal region to China.
The project, Power of Siberia 2, is part of Russia's strategy to make up for the loss of most of its gas sales in Europe since the start of the war in Ukraine. It is the planned successor to a pipeline of the same name that already supplies Russian gas to China and is expected to reach its planned capacity of 38 billion cubic metres per year by 2025.
The new project has long been stalled over key issues such as gas prices. However, Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and engineering studies, was progressing according to plan.
