Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) rejected ordering the arrest of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin should he visit the country to attend the inauguration of his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum.
"It's not up to us," AMLO told press on Friday during his regular press conference. "We can't do that." He has not said Russia is an aggressor in its war in Ukraine and has sought to convey the message that both parties bear responsibility in the ongoing conflict.
His government came under the spotlight after news surfaced that Putin had been invited, prompting backlash from the Ukrainian embassy in the country, which requested for the country to detain him upon arrival given the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against him.
Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum defended the government's decision, saying they are "diplomatic letters normally sent in the context of inaugurations and sent to all countries with which we have relations." She claimed such invitations are not "something out of the ordinary" and added that her predecessors did so as well.
Although the presence of Putin has not been confirmed, the possibility has dominated the political conversation in the country, especially after the reaction from the Ukrainian embassy.
The message starts by acknowledging that many countries are invited to such events, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but quickly moves on to claim that Mexico "is aware of the fact that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal who has an arrest warrant for unlawful deportation of population unlawful transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia by the International Criminal Court, whose jurisdiction Mexico recognizes."
"This shameful crime will be one of the many reasons why Putin, along with the rest of the Russian political and military brass will someday face justice after launching a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, approving the bombing, killing, torturing, raping and looting of the Ukrainian people. We trust the Mexican government would comply with the international arrest warrant handing the mentioned person (Putin) to the UN's judicial body in The Hague," the letter adds.
The controversy comes as the war continues to rage on, with new developments changing the landscape as Ukraine is pressing on with a major cross-border incursion into Russian territory and launching an air attack on an airfield behind the front lines.
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