BISHKEK: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived to Kyrgyzstan on his officials visits on Thursday, marking his first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March. The ICC’s warrant pertains to his alleged involvement in the deportation of Ukrainian children, and ICC members are obligated to arrest him should he set foot on their territory.
Television broadcasts showed Putin being welcomed by his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sadyr Japarov, in the capital city of Bishkek for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Putin expressed gratitude for the invitation and emphasized the importance of the visit, stating, “We have good reasons to be here, but even without reasons, this visit is long overdue,” during his conversation with Japarov.
Since initiating the Ukraine offensive in February 2022, Putin has rarely left Russia. This year, his travels have been restricted to Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, and his last foreign trips occurred in December to Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. This is a notable departure from his earlier frequent international engagements.
The Russian government has strongly opposed the prospect of Putin being arrested abroad and labeled the ICC warrant as “illegal.” In practice, Russia has taken precautions, as evidenced by sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to a BRICS summit in ICC member South Africa in August, in place of Putin.
While Putin’s full-scale Ukraine offensive led to his isolation in the Western world, the ICC ruling has further restricted his international mobility. The Rome Statute, a treaty obligating members to comply with ICC rulings, has been ratified by 123 countries.
The ICC’s decision posed a diplomatic challenge for ICC member South Africa, which hosted the BRICS summit where Putin was invited. In the eleventh hour, Moscow opted to send its foreign minister instead of Putin.
Regarding the ICC’s allegations of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children to Russia, Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, are both wanted for war crimes. Moscow vehemently denies the accusations. This visit to Kyrgyzstan occurs amid divisions among Russia’s regional allies.
Putin’s Attendance Leads Armenian Leader to Skip Summit
Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan decided to skip the summit attended by Putin, a move announced by host country Kyrgyzstan just two days prior to the event. Pashinyan had previously criticized Moscow for not intervening when Azerbaijan successfully launched an offensive to seize the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region the previous month. His decision to abstain came after Armenian lawmakers moved to join the ICC, a move that angered Moscow and potentially further restricted Putin’s travel options.
Putin is also planning a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the leader of Armenia’s arch-foe.
Ahead of Putin’s visit, Kyrgyzstan revealed it had ratified an agreement for a common air defense system with Russia. Moscow has similar agreements with other allied countries, including Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Tajikistan. However, there is growing suspicion of Russia in certain parts of the region since the Ukraine conflict, with none of the Central Asian countries supporting Russia in a crucial UN vote on Ukraine last year.
