International Criminal Court reports Mongolia to its oversight body for failing to arrest Putin

A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court reported Mongolia to the court’s oversight organization yesterday for failing to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited the Asian nation last month.

Putin’s visit was his first to a member state of the court since it issued an arrest warrant for him last year on war crimes charges, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

“States Parties and those accepting the Court’s jurisdiction are duty-bound to arrest and surrender individuals subject to ICC warrants, regardless of official position or nationality,” the court said in a statement.

Putin is wanted by the court for his alleged personal responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

Instead of arresting Putin, Mongolian authorities rolled out the red carpet. The Russian leader was welcomed in the main square of Ulaanbaatar by an honor guard dressed in vivid red and blue uniforms styled on those of the personal guard of 13th century ruler Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire.