ICC Member State Invites Putin to Presidential Inauguration
Mexico, an ICC member state, has extended an invitation to President Vladimir Putin to attend the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum in October, according to Russian media.
“Mexico has invited President Vladimir Putin to attend the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on October 1,” the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported on August 6, citing an official from the Mexican embassy in Moscow. “President Putin will decide whether to attend in person or send a high-ranking official as his representative.”
Izvestia noted that Mexico “maintains a neutral stance on the Ukraine crisis,” and experts believe that Sheinbaum is likely to continue the foreign policy of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs later confirmed that the government had sent diplomatic notes to all countries with which Mexico has established relations, as well as to international organizations of which Mexico is a member, inviting them to the inauguration.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights, accusing them of illegally deporting children from Ukraine to Russia, an act considered a “war crime.”
Russia has rejected the allegations and responded by issuing its own arrest warrants for the ICC President and several judges.
While Russia is not an ICC member, Mexico is one of the 124 countries that are. As an ICC member state, Mexico is obligated to enforce the ICC’s arrest warrants. However, the ICC’s actions are largely symbolic, as officials targeted by such warrants typically avoid traveling to these countries. The ICC cannot conduct trials in absentia.
The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to questions about how Mexico’s ICC membership might affect President Putin’s attendance at Sheinbaum’s inauguration.
Russia and Mexico have developed a strong relationship. In June, President Putin congratulated Sheinbaum on her election victory, describing Mexico as a “friendly partner of Russia in Latin America.”
In September 2023, a Russian military unit participated in Mexico’s Independence Day parade, a move that sparked criticism of President López Obrador, given Russia’s ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.
