Putin made his first foreign visit after the case was filed at the International Criminal Court

Kyrgyzstan will be the first country that Vladimir Putin will visit after the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the statement made by the Kyrgyz Presidential Office, the trip to the Central Asian country is planned to be held on Thursday, October 12. The Russian leader traveled very rarely after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and he has traveled even less since the International Criminal Court issued an international arrest warrant for him in March. Since then, the head of the Kremlin has never (at least officially) set foot outside Russia.

The court issued an arrest warrant based on suspicion that Moscow, through its military, had illegally deported hundreds of children from Ukraine. The Kremlin vehemently denies the allegations, saying the authorization is evidence of Western hostility towards Russia. He then filed criminal charges against the ICC prosecutor and the judges who issued the arrest warrant. The Tsar also avoided the risk of arrest by keeping his movements to a minimum. Putin accepted the invitation to Kyrgyzstan during talks with President Sadyr Japarov in May, but there has yet to be official confirmation from the Kremlin that the Russian President will travel there.

According to the statement made in Kyrgyzstan, which is not a member of the ICC, the Russian President will attend the ceremonies held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Kant air base, which hosts the 999th air base of the Russian Aerospace Forces. By the Kyrgyz President’s office. In a separate statement from the presidential office, it was stated that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will not attend the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit to be held in Bishkek on Friday, October 13, which Putin plans to attend. Pashinyan did not make a detailed statement during his phone call to Kyrgyz President Japarov, but the underlying reasons extend to the friction between Armenia and Russia after the recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the CIS was established in 1991 among some former Soviet republics and includes Russia, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan. Ties between Russia and Armenia have become particularly worrying in recent months. After Moscow invaded Ukraine, the Yerevan government decided to appeal to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. A move that was not particularly welcome in the Kremlin. When Azerbaijan last month recaptured disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, a region controlled by ethnic Armenians for three decades, Armenia accused Russia of “inaction”. Following the unopposed military action of Azerbaijani military forces, a large part of the Armenian population was forced to flee.

Next week Putin will be in China for the third Belt and Road Forum. According to the information announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Beijing determined the dates of the visit to the People’s Republic. Even China is not a member of the International Criminal Court, which was established to try war crimes.

Source: Today IT

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