Reject Ukraine's Request To Arrest Vladimir Putin, Mexican President Obrador: Not Our Business

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. (Wikimedia Commons/EneasMx)

JAKARTA - President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday rejected the Ukrainian government's request to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attended the next inauguration of Mexican President in October.

"We can't do that," President Obrador told reporters at a routine government press conference.

"That's none of our business," he said.

Ukraine asked Mexico to arrest President Putin if he attended the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on October 1.

The request, in a statement from the Ukrainian embassy in Mexico dated August 7, refers to an arrest warrant issued by the UN International Criminal Court (ICC).

Sheinbaum's team has invited the Russian president to attend the inauguration, noting earlier this week they have sent "plomatic notifications" to all countries in diplomatic relations with Mexico.

"We hope the Mexican government realizes that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal who already has an arrest warrant against him," the Ukrainian embassy said in a statement, arguing President Putin allegedly ordered the kidnapping of Ukrainian children and took them to Russia.

The statement expressed confidence that the Mexican government would comply.

It is known that the ICC issued a warrant for President Putin's arrest last year, accusing him of war crimes for illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine to Moscow after the country launched an invasion of the European neighboring country in early 2022.

Russia is not a member of the ICC. Meanwhile, Mexico is a member of the ICC.

In June, President Putin congratulated Sheinbaum, an ally of Lopez Obrador, for his election victory. At that time, he called Mexico a "Russian partner who has been historically friendly in Latin America."