Putin’s Central Asia Summit Kicks Off in Tajikistan Amidst ICC Warrant Concerns

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently in Tajikistan, having commenced a three-day state visit on Wednesday. The trip, which follows Putin’s 73rd birthday on Tuesday, includes a series of high-level meetings with leaders of former Soviet nations.

This visit underscores the growing importance of trade and other ties with Tajikistan and Central Asian countries for Russia, particularly in light of extensive Western sanctions imposed due to its military actions in Ukraine.

Arriving in Dushanbe, the capital, Putin is holding talks with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon. These discussions will be followed by a Russia-Central Asia summit featuring leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. A broader meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, is scheduled for Friday.

Russia maintains a significant military base in Tajikistan, a country sharing an extensive border with Afghanistan.

Notably, Tajikistan is a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Despite this, he faces no threat of arrest in Tajikistan, a nation deeply reliant on its political, economic, and military ties with Russia. This visit follows a similar trip to Mongolia in September 2024, another ICC member state that also disregarded calls for his arrest.

Human Rights Watch has, on Wednesday, publicly urged Tajikistan to execute the arrest warrant, stating that failure to do so would demonstrate ‘utter disregard for the suffering of victims of Russian forces’ crimes in Ukraine.’ Russia continues to reject the ICC’s authority, and the warrant has significantly restricted Putin’s international travel, compelling him to avoid nations that recognize the court’s jurisdiction.

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