How Do Chinese People View Mongolia’s Reluctance to Arrest Putin?
On September 2 (local time), Russian President Putin arrived in Mongolia for an official visit. As expected, despite being a signatory of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mongolia became the first country to not enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant against Putin.
On March 17 last year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of committing “war crimes” and illegally deporting children from Ukraine to Russia. As one of the 123 member countries of the ICC, Mongolia is obligated to arrest Putin upon his arrival and transfer him to The Hague for trial.
But instead of being arrested, Putin was welcomed in Mongolia with an open statement from the country, declaring “Mongolia depends on Russian oil imports.”
Apologies, everyone, our hands are kind of tied. That’s the message from Mongolia’s government after it failed to arrest Putin when he arrived in the country for an official visit.
According to “牛弹琴,” a social media account reportedly affiliated with China’s state news agency Xinhua commented, “The red carpet in Mongolia was rolled all the way to the airplane’s stairs, and Putin jogged off the plane. Mongolia’s Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg, dressed in a red suit, greeted him at the bottom of the stairs.” The article added that “Mongolia made history for Putin.”
Mongolia’s Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg greeted Putin at the bottom of the stairs
Adding to the China Academy polling on how Chinese view the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Palestine war , we now provide you a snapshot of how Chinese netizens are reacting to this particular piece of news.
On China’s largest political news website, Guancha.cn, the news once made it to the headline, with popular netizen comments shown as follows:
@神经兮兮邱雨庵 (346 likes) teased Mongolia for how it cunningly navigates political tensions:
“Sorry, we’re good at singing and dancing.”
@塞上一农夫 (320 likes):
“How does the ICC have the authority to issue an arrest warrant for Putin? Why don’t former U.S. presidents, who committed war crimes, receive the same treatment?”
@路过农业部 (198 likes):
“‘He won’t be arrested because Mongolia needs Russian energy.’ How does anyone come up with such reasoning? Is that the main reason? Even if they didn’t need Russian energy, would they dare?”
@坐市井观天 (124 likes):
“The ICC should have been prepared to be slapped in the face when they did this.”
@闲云里的野鹤 (85 likes):
“National interests come above all else at any time. Mongolia made the right choice!!!”
Some commenters voiced empathy for Mongolia’s decision, with one saying:
@小辣椒:
“Haha, let’s see how the U.S. would react if Putin visited it.”
This comment was immediately met with a response from another user:
@夜雨观荷:
“In 2002, the U.S. withdrew from the Rome Statute of the ICC and stopped fulfilling its obligations. The U.S. government is critical of the ICC and has taken measures to limit its investigations into American citizens.
For example, former President Trump signed an executive order authorizing economic sanctions and travel restrictions on ICC officials investigating U.S. actions in the Afghanistan war. Former Secretary of State Pompeo also threatened visa restrictions if the ICC pursued investigations into the U.S.”
Other commenters highlighted Mongolia’s difficulties:
@难道你不知道我是一条狗吗:
“Russia owns 50% of the Mongolian national railway company. The fuel company at Ulaanbaatar airport is owned by Russia. The funniest part is that Western countries have banned their airlines from flying over Russian airspace. Even if Putin wanted to surrender, he couldn’t fly there.”
Screenshot of Chinese netizens’ comments
On Zhihu, China’s version of Quora, there are over 369 responses to a question related the news. Netizens are divided into two camps: one camp lays out all the geopolitical pros and cons in analyzing Mongolia’s predicament, while the other uses humor to close the discussion, seeing Mongolia’s refusal to arrest Putin as too obvious a choice. Here are some representative responses.
@flyingpanzer (1,175 likes):
“Putin’s visit to Mongolia showcases the first principle of international geopolitics—‘might makes right.’ It is clear that Mongolia is caught between its desire to join the Western-led international order and the practical realities of its geopolitical interests. Mongolia must face reality.”
Former Mongolian Prime Minister Elbegdorj’s statements on X (formerly Twitter) shows how he views the Ukraine war, which shed light on ideological inclinations shared by many Monolian elites.
Undoubtedly he wants to be accepted into the U.S.-led geopolitical sphere. However, it’s important to note that Russia is Mongolia’s largest fuel supplier, and China is its largest import partner. Even from a geopolitical standpoint, Mongolia is heavily dependent on Russia.
When forced to choose between the Western international order and its own interests, Mongolia has no option but to pick one.
@第二类永动机 (1,108 likes), poking fun at Putin’s flexible diplomacy:
“In Russia, he’s an Orthodox Christian. In Chechnya, he’s a Muslim. In North Korea, he’s a proponent of Juche. In Mongolia, he’s a Tibetan Buddhist.”
Two comments, both referencing the ICC’s arrest warrant to Netanyahu but with different angles, caught our attention.
@klee前来报到 (46 likes) focused on the U.S. stance:
“Ukraine’s basis for its case is the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin. But guess who else the ICC issued an arrest warrant for? On May 20, U.S. President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken issued statements expressing outrage at the ICC. Netanyahu slammed the ICC prosecutor as ‘anti-Semitic.’ U.S. House Speaker (Republican) Johnson said Congress is reviewing all options, including sanctions against ICC prosecutors. Biden said, ‘The prosecutor’s arrest warrant for the Israeli leader is outrageous. Let me be clear: there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel.’”
@丰hiki’s comment (4 likes) highlighted the ICC’s awkward position and Chinese netizens’ distinct views on the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts:
“The ICC has two arrest warrants—one for Putin, the other for Netanyahu. The contrast between the two comment sections is fascinating.”
If you want to learn more about our previous surveys on Chinese views regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict（https://thechinaacademy.org/poll-how-many-chinese-people-favor-a-sino-russia-military-alliance/）, feel free to sign up for membership. You’ll get a free 7-day premium member trial.
