On Wednesday, 7 August 2024, the Ukrainian embassy in Mexico requested that Russian President Vladimir Putin be detained if he attends the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, to which he had been invited.

The delegation from Kyiv, which called Putin a “war criminal,” also expressed gratitude to Mexico for inviting Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, to the October 1 ceremony.

The Ukrainian embassy issued a statement saying, “We are confident that the Mexican government would comply in any case with the international arrest warrant by handing over the aforementioned (Putin) to the United Nations judicial body in The Hague.”

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023, citing him for war crimes related to the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia after Moscow’s invasion in early 2022.

The foreign minister appointed to replace Sheinbaum, Juan Ramon de la Fuente, stated that inviting the leaders of all of the nations with which Mexico has diplomatic ties, including Russia and Ukraine, to the inauguration was “standard protocol.”

Sheinbaum, who will become Mexico’s first female President, was victorious in the country’s general election on June 2 and will take office in October for a six-year tenure. Among the world leaders who congratulated her were Putin and Zelensky.

AFP

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