Putin's Mongolia trip underscores rejection of ICC's authority - political scientist

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"It is very important for Putin to demonstrate that there are a certain number of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) but will not comply with its provisions. I think that Putin does not care about Mongolia at all. In this case, it is important for him to set a precedent by entering the territory of a country that is supposed to arrest him under international law as a war crimes suspect, for which an ICC warrant was issued. Mongolia is one of the countries that recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC," commented the political analyst.

According to him, there are most likely certain agreements with the Mongolian government that Putin will not be arrested there, otherwise he would never have gone there.

"In my opinion, this is the key factor, Putin is going there to show that the ICC mandate is not valid and to discredit the very idea of international justice for him. This is the only reason I see for his visit to Mongolia," he summarized.

• On August 30, the Kremlin press service announced that Putin was to visit Mongolia on September 3 at the invitation of President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh. Putin's trip to Mongolia will be his first visit to a country that has ratified the Rome Statute. At the same time, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin is not afraid of the Russian dictator's arrest.
• Ukraine has called on the Mongolian authorities to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
• The International Criminal Court has said that the Mongolian authorities, in accordance with their obligations, should arrest Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin if he visits the country next week.