Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador rejected a request from the Ukrainian government on Thursday to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he defies an international arrest warrant and attends the inauguration ceremony of the elected Mexican president in October. The Mexican president told reporters at a regular press conference, "We cannot do that... it is not up to us."
Ukraine requested Mexico to arrest Putin if he attends the inauguration of elected president Claudia Sheinbaum on October 1. The request referenced an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court of the United Nations in a statement from the Ukrainian embassy in Mexico on August 7. Sheinbaum's team invited the Russian president to the inauguration, previously indicating that they sent a "diplomatic note" to all countries that Mexico has diplomatic relations with.
The Ukrainian embassy stated, "We hope the Mexican government understands that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal for whom an arrest warrant has been issued," citing that Putin is suspected of ordering the abduction of Ukrainian children and their transfer to Russia. The statement expressed confidence that the Mexican government would adhere to the arrest warrant.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Putin last year, accusing him of war crimes for illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine to Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Russia is not a member of the International Criminal Court, but Mexico is a member. In June, Putin congratulated Sheinbaum, an ally of López Obrador, on her election victory and described Mexico as a "historically friendly partner of Russia in Latin America."
