Mexico denies Ukraine's request to detain Putin during visit
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The Mexican government on Aug. 8 said it would not accommodate Kyiv's request to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he arrives for the inauguration of Mexico's new head of state.
"We can't do that," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told journalists, adding that "it's not up to us."
The Kremlin's chief was invited to attend the inauguration of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum on Oct. 1. In response, the Ukrainian Embassy called on Mexico to comply with an international arrest warrant on Putin and detain him.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin over allegations of war crimes, specifically the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia following Moscow's invasion in early 2022.
While Russia is not a member of the ICC, Mexico is.
Juan Ramon de la Fuente, selected to be Sheinbaum's foreign minister, explained that it is "standard protocol" to invite the leaders of all countries with which Mexico has diplomatic relations to the inauguration.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky received an invitation as well.
Putin congratulated Sheinbaum on her victory in June, referring to Mexico as Russia's "historically friendly partner" in Latin America.
Sheinbaum, poised to become Mexico's first female president, won a historic victory in the general election on June 2 and will commence her six-year term in October.
