On Wednesday, the Ukrainian embassy in Mexico requested that Russian leader Vladimir Putin be arrested if he attends President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration.

The Kyiv delegation, which referred to Putin as a “war criminal,” also praised Mexico for inviting Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to the ceremony on October 1.

“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,” according to a statement released by the Ukrainian Embassy.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes stemming from the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia following Moscow’s invasion in early 2022.

Juan Ramon de la Fuente, Sheinbaum’s foreign minister, stated that it was “standard protocol” to invite leaders from any country with whom Mexico has diplomatic relations, including Russia and Ukraine, to the inauguration.

Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, earned a historic victory in the general election on June 2 and will begin her six-year tenure in October.

Putin and Zelensky were among the foreign leaders that congratulated her.

AFP