{"id":37195,"date":"2024-09-02T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=37195"},"modified":"2024-09-10T13:53:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T13:53:21","slug":"putins-visit-to-mongolia-defies-icc-warrant-and-tests-neutral-nations-third-neighbor-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/putins-visit-to-mongolia-defies-icc-warrant-and-tests-neutral-nations-third-neighbor-diplomacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin\u2019s visit to Mongolia defies ICC warrant and tests neutral nation\u2019s \u2018third neighbor\u2019 diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christopher K. Tong<\/a>, University of Maryland, Baltimore County<\/a><\/em> and Charles Krusekopf<\/a>, Royal Roads University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia on Sept. 2<\/a>, 2024, the first time the Russian president has visited an International Criminal Court (ICC) member country since the body issued a warrant<\/a> for his arrest in 2023. While officially commemorating a Soviet-Mongolian military victory<\/a> in World War II, Putin\u2019s visit will test the small central Asian country\u2019s policy of neutrality and the reach of international institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia, a country of just 3.3 million people<\/a> but with huge geographical territory, has long navigated its foreign policy in the shadow of Russia and China, with whom it has extensive historical and economic ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country has attempted to bolster its independence from its more powerful neighbors by developing cordial relations with so-called third neighbor<\/a> countries that include the United States, Germany, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through this approach, Mongolia has attempted to carve out a niche on the international stage, presenting itself as a neutral diplomatic meeting ground. Its annual Ulaanbaatar Dialogue<\/a>, for example, is an opportunity for regional countries and other invited nations, including from the U.S. and EU member states, to discuss issues ranging from climate change to regional security and critical minerals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As scholars of Mongolia<\/a> and China<\/a>, we attended the last such dialogue in June 2024 and witnessed Mongolia\u2019s diplomatic efforts firsthand. It is a strategy that has worked for the country, but as events like Putin\u2019s visit highlight, it can be a tough balancing act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A closely watched visit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The timing of Putin\u2019s trip is officially linked to history. It marks both the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Khalkhin Gol<\/a> \u2013 in which joint Soviet-Mongolian forces defeated Japanese troops in World War II \u2013 and the founding of Mongolia\u2019s national railway operator<\/a> by the two countries 75 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet it is a third historical marker, the fifth anniversary of a comprehensive Russian-Mongolian strategic partnership<\/a>, that highlights the visit\u2019s significance from a modern geopolitical perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside its friendly relations with \u201cthird neighbors,\u201d Mongolia has maintained a close relationship with Moscow despite Putin\u2019s pariah status in much of the international community. Most recently, in July, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh met with Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Putin\u2019s visit now \u2013 the first he has made to the country since 2019<\/a> \u2013 poses a challenge for Mongolia as it seeks to balance its obligations and alliances with the Western-led international order<\/a>, of which the ICC is a part, and its desire to remain friendly with its powerful neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few things demonstrate this diplomatic tightrope walk like Mongolia\u2019s membership in the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his alleged role in the unlawful deportation and transfer<\/a> of Ukrainian children to Russia. Ukraine has urged<\/a> Mongolia to detain Putin, citing the ICC\u2019s founding treaty, the Rome Statute<\/a>, which instructs member countries to take action if subjects to a court warrant enter their territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the ICC lacks an effective enforcement mechanism, and member states may also be exempt from carrying out arrests<\/a> if doing so conflicts with certain treaty obligations or diplomatic immunity offered to another party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin\u2019s visit is expected to demonstrate how little can be done<\/a> to rein in Moscow. Given the power imbalance between the states, Mongolia will likely show just how far it is willing to go to accommodate its powerful neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia\u2019s \u2018Third Neighbor\u2019 policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For almost 70 years, Mongolia was closely allied with the Soviet Union. But the fall of communism and subsequent geopolitical reorientation of the post-Cold War order forced the country to alter its economic and political relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In so doing, Mongolia became the only former communist state in Asia to adopt a democratic political system and open economy<\/a>. It won favor with the U.S. and other Western countries who embraced the country as a role model for the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin\u2019s expected trip is but the latest in a series of recent high-profile state visits as Mongolia seeks to maintain close relations with its neighbors, while also expanding partnerships with other nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far in 2024, Mongolia has received heads of state or foreign ministers from the U.S., Slovenia, the Philippines, Belarus, the United Kingdom and Germany. In 2023, Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene traveled to the U.S. and met with Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a>, and to China to see President Xi Jinping<\/a> and Premier Li Qiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> and Pope Francis<\/a> have recently visited Ulaanbaatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia can\u2019t escape geography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While soft power efforts have won Ulaanbaatar goodwill and friends around the globe, they do not trump geography. Landlocked between Russia and China, Mongolia remains vulnerable to the whims of its two giant neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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