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Kremlin says ‘no worries’ Putin could be arrested in Mongolia despite war crimes warrant

Kyiv says the Russian president should be detained and transferred to the World Court for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children

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Russian President Vladimir Putin leads a meeting with top security and defence officials at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside of Moscow on August 12. Photo: Sputnik via AP

The Kremlin said on Friday it was not worried that Mongolia could arrest President Vladimir Putin during his visit there next week, despite the International Criminal Court saying the member country had an “obligation” to detain the Kremlin leader.

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Putin will travel to Mongolia on Tuesday, his first trip to an ICC member since The Hague-based court issued a warrant for his arrest over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children in March 2023.

“There are no worries, we have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Asked if Moscow had discussed the arrest warrant with Ulaanbaatar ahead of Putin’s trip, he said: “All aspects of the visit were carefully prepared.”

Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.

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Court spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told reporters on Friday that states that have signed up to the Rome Statute that underpins the court, “have the obligation to cooperation”.

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