The Ukrainian embassy in Mexico City has called on the Mexican government to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court if he attends the inauguration ceremony of President Claudia Sheinbaum. The embassy stated: "We are confident that the Mexican government will respect the international arrest warrant" issued against Putin and "will hand him over to the judicial body of the United Nations in The Hague," meaning the International Criminal Court, if he participates in Sheinbaum's inauguration.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of committing war crimes by transferring children from occupied areas in Ukraine to Russia. Mexico is one of the signatory countries to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the International Criminal Court, which stipulates that "it is the duty of every state to submit to its criminal jurisdiction those responsible for international crimes."
In its statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Mexico described the Russian president as a "war criminal," calling for him to be tried by the court for the invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022. Meanwhile, the embassy thanked the Mexican government for inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Sheinbaum's inauguration ceremony. Juan Ramon, appointed as foreign minister in Sheinbaum's upcoming government, said Wednesday that the invitation extended to Putin was merely a "protocol practice." Sheinbaum, the first woman elected as president of Mexico, will officially take office on October 1 for a term of six years.
