Mexico has long remained pro-Russian oriented due to many external factors. However, it previously refrained from overt steps in this direction. Until now. But the situation has changed: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that the country does not plan to arrest Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The Russian leader has been invited to Mexico to attend the inauguration of the new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, scheduled for October 1. And although he has not yet confirmed his visit, Ukraine has appealed to the country’s authorities to arrest the Russian president, as required by international law, but received a refusal. These words of Obrador – the president whose term is just coming to an end – were a response to calls not only from Ukraine, but also from the European Union.
Ukraine and the EU remind that Mexico is a participant of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin last year. However, during a government press conference, Obrador practically dismissed these demands, stating that Mexico will not comply with the ICC obligations in this case. The president remarked: “We cannot do it. It is not up to us.”
Who is “us,” and why is Mexico going to disregard international law, even though it will have colossal consequences in terms of strained relations with Europe (and also worsened relations with the US), the Mexican president did not explain.
