Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday marked his first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March. The Russian President is wanted over allegations of deportation of Ukrainian children. However, Kyrgyzstan is not a member of the ICC, and it is not bound by the court's ruling to arrest him.
During the visit, he is scheduled to meet with Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov and take part in a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Russian ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, and other regional leaders will also participate in the summit.
Moscow has likened the prospect of Putin being arrested abroad to an act of war, casting the warrant as "illegal". In practice, however, it has taken precautions: in August, Russia sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to a BRICS summit in ICC member South Africa, instead of Putin.
According to AFP, long-time leader who is known to have a busy travelled scehdule -- has rarely left Russia since launching the Ukraine offensive in February 2022. This year, he only travelled to the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, his last foreign trip was to Belarus and Kyrgyzstan in December 2022. Now, in a sign of Russia's isolation, he is planning a visit to North Korea next, as well as China. The ICC ruling virtually closed the door to a large part of the globe for him.
The Rome Statute, a treaty requiring members to adhere to ICC rulings, has been ratified by 123 countries. The ruling caused a legal headache for ICC member South Africa, which hosted the BRICS summit to which Putin was invited, according to AFP.
In a last-minute decision, Moscow sent its foreign minister instead of Putin.
"Why should I create some problems for our friends during an event?" Putin said this month, commenting on his absence from Johannesburg.
"If I come, a political show will start," he added, as per AFP.
Putin is wanted alongside his children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of allegedly unlawfully deporting thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia.
However, Moscow has rejected the allegations.
Rifts In The Kyrgyzstan Visit
According to AFP, the trip comes amid rifts among Russia's allies. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is reportedly skipping the summit attended by Putin, host country Kyrgyzstan announced two days before the event. Pashinyan has criticised Moscow for not intervening when Azerbaijan launched a successful offensive to take over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region last month.
His snub came after Armenian lawmakers moved to join the ICC, angering Moscow and potentially limiting Putin's travel options further, reported AFP.
Putin is planning to meet with the leader of Armenia's arch-foe, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.
Moscow's Ukraine offensive has also rattled its Central Asian partners.
Putin visited Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in 2022, portraying them as Russia's core allies.