Despite arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, Putin is given a generous welcome in Mongolia

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin received a red carpet welcome on Tuesday during his state visit to Mongolia, as Ukraine criticised the country's refusal to arrest him despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court as a blow to the judiciary.

As Putin stepped out of his limousine in the capital Ulan Bator, he was greeted by his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh in front of a line of ceremonial guards on horseback wearing pointed helmets.

The Kremlin chief bent down to kiss a young girl who came up to greet him in Russian and offer him flowers.

An arrest warrant issued against Putin by the International Criminal Court last year obliges the court's 124 member states, including Mongolia, to arrest the Russian president and hand him over to The Hague for trial if he enters their territory.

Mongolia's failure to act accordingly was “a serious blow to the International Criminal Court and the criminal justice system,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi.

“Mongolia has allowed an accused criminal to evade justice and thus bears responsibility for war crimes,” he wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ukraine will work with its allies to ensure that Mongolia faces the consequences, he said.

The ICC arrest warrant accuses Putin of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin denies the accusation, saying it is politically motivated.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that Moscow had no concerns about any action related to the arrest warrant because Russia was having a “great dialogue” with Mongolia and all aspects of the visit had been discussed in advance.

“Relations with Mongolia are among the priorities of our foreign policy in Asia. They have been raised to the high level of a comprehensive strategic partnership,” Putin told Khurelsukh.

The Mongolian President expressed hope that the visit would strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

Mongolia lies on the planned route of a major pipeline that Russia plans to build to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from the Yamal region to China.

The Power of Siberia 2 project is part of Russia's strategy to compensate for the loss of most of its gas supplies in Europe since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. It is the planned successor to an existing pipeline of the same name that already supplies Russian gas to China and is expected to reach its planned capacity of 38 billion cubic meters per year in 2025.

The new project has long been stuck on key issues such as gas pricing, but Putin said on the eve of his visit that preparatory work, including feasibility and technical studies, was progressing as planned.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Ros Russell)