Russian President Vladimir Putin today he met with his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Hurelsukh at the beginning of a visit to Mongolia and invited him to Russia for the upcoming BRICS summit, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
„We are waiting for you”, Putin said during the meeting in the capital Ulaanbaatar, according to Russian news agencies.
The rapidly developing countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa will meet at the end of October in the Russian city of Kazan. Putin said he wanted to discuss primarily economic cooperation in Mongolia.
The Russian head of state's visit is controversial because Mongolia recognizes the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin over Russia's war in Ukraine.
For the first time since the order came into effect in March 2023, the Kremlin leader checked whether he could visit a country that, according to legal provisions, should extradite him to the headquarters of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
However, Putin's detention is extremely unlikely because of Mongolia's economic dependence on Russia and its other neighbor China.
Mongolia is surrounded by two superpowers and makes an effort to maintain harmonious relations both with neighboring countries and with the West, DPA notes.
According to Mongolia expert Julian Dirkus, handing Putin over to the court in The Hague would be almost “suicidal“.
Mongolia – country, with a population of about 3.4 million people, gets much of its fuel from Russia. China is Mongolia's most important trading partner and Ulaanbaatar exports raw materials such as coal to Beijing.