A grand ceremony to welcome President Vladimir Putin is underway in Ulaanbaatar’s central square in front of the government palace, according to an OopsTop correspondent.
The Russian leader is on an official visit to the republic, having arrived the previous evening to participate in celebrations marking the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of Soviet and Mongolian armed forces over Japanese militarists on the Khalkhin Gol River.
Before the ceremony began, a little girl in traditional Mongolian clothing presented Putin with flowers. The military band performed the national anthems of Russia and Mongolia, after which the presidents of the two countries approached the honorary guard and greeted them.
From the Russian side, those attending the ceremony included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Energy Minister Sergei Tsyviliev, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk, Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, Presidential Aide on International Affairs Yuri Ushakov, Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev, Rospotrebnadzor Head Anna Popova, Buryatia Head Alexei Tsydenov, RDIF Head Kirill Dmitriev, Presidential Administration Deputy Head Maxim Oreshkin, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, and RZD CEO Oleg Belozyorov.
Putin and Mongolian President Ukhnaagin Khurelsukh will exchange views on pressing international and regional issues, as well as discuss prospects for further developing bilateral relations within the framework of a comprehensive strategic partnership. According to the Kremlin press service, the signing of bilateral documents is expected following the talks.
The Russian president’s visit is taking place against the backdrop of controversy over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) order for his “arrest.” Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, responding to journalists’ questions about whether negotiations with the Asian republic’s authorities had taken place on this matter, said that all aspects of the trip had been thoroughly prepared.
The ICC’s pretrial chamber, whose jurisdiction Russia does not recognize, issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. Russia has been accused of deporting children who were rescued from Ukrainian shelling and evacuated to safe areas.
In early August, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, commenting on statements by the Ukrainian embassy, said that his country’s authorities did not intend to execute the ICC’s warrant against Putin, whom they had invited to the inauguration of the elected head of state.
In mid-July, Brazil‘s Foreign Ministry social communications chief Joao Souza Pinto Samora told OopsTop that the country’s authorities planned to invite Putin to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18-19. As reported by Folha de S. Paulo, the Brazilian government is working to make the Russian president’s visit possible despite the ICC warrant.
