Putin Faces Arrest As He Set To Step Out Of Russia

Ukraine has urged Mongolia to arrest Vladimir Putin on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant when he visits next week.

The court issued an arrest warrant in March of last year against Mr Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

The Kremlin has dismissed the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.

The warrant obliges the court’s 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest Mr Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.

Now, the Ukrainian foreign ministry has called on the ICC to arrest the Russian leader when he visits Mongolia on 3 September.

“We call on the Mongolian authorities to comply with the mandatory international arrest warrant and transfer Putin to the International Criminal Court in the Hague,” the ministry said on Telegram.

Asked earlier today whether Moscow was concerned that Mongolia was a member of the ICC, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “No, no worries about this. We have a great dialogue with our friends from Mongolia.”

Asked whether there had been discussions with Mongolian authorities about the ICC warrant, Mr Peskov added: “Obviously the visit, all of the aspects of the visit have been thoroughly discussed.”