Ulaanbaatar, Sept. 3: Russian President Vladimir Putin received a lavish reception in Mongolia on Tuesday, despite international calls for his arrest on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. This is Putin's first visit to an ICC member nation since the court issued the warrant in March 2023.

The warrant accuses Putin of involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children, putting Mongolia in a challenging position. The landlocked country, which transitioned from communist rule to democracy in the 1990s, maintains significant economic ties with Russia and China. While Mongolia has fostered relations with Western nations, it remains dependent on its larger neighbors.

In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, Putin was welcomed with an honor guard dressed in traditional red and blue uniforms, reminiscent of the personal guard of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. A crowd watched as Putin and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa walked up a red-carpeted staircase to the Government Palace, pausing to bow before a statue of Genghis Khan. During the ceremony, a small group of protesters with Ukrainian flags was removed by police, while others with anti-Putin banners dispersed.

The warm reception coincided with a tragic development in Ukraine. Russian forces struck a military training facility and a nearby hospital in Potava, Ukraine, killing at least 41 people and injuring 180 others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as one of the deadliest since the conflict began on February 24, 2022.

Putin, on his maiden visit to Mongolia in last five years, took part in a ceremony to commemorate the 85th anniversary of a joint Soviet and Mongolian victory over Japanese army when it had Manchuria in its clutches. In 1939, thousands of soldiers on both sides died in months of fighting over the border location between Manchuria and Mongolia.

During his visit, Putin and Mongolian officials signed agreements to enhance energy cooperation, including a feasibility study for a power plant upgrade and an environmental study for a proposed hydroelectric plant. Putin also outlined plans to improve rail connections between the two countries and invited President Khurelsukh to the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, later this year. Khurelsukh accepted the invitation, as per a report on Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

The European Union expressed concern that Mongolia might not execute the ICC warrant. European Commission spokeswoman Nabila Massrali stated that while Mongolia has the right to develop international ties according to its interests, it has legal obligations as an ICC member. Over 50 Russians abroad, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was freed from a Russian prison in August in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, urged Mongolia to detain Putin. In response, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s Security Council deputy secretary, denounced the warrant as “illegal.”

Putin’s visit marks his first to Mongolia in five years and follows recent trips to China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. His international travels aim to counteract the isolation he faces due to the ongoing Ukraine invasion.-Agencies