(Reuters) – Mexico invited Russian president Vladimir Putin to the inauguration, on October 1st, of the country’s newly elected president Claudia SheinbaumRussian newspaper Izvestia reported on Wednesday, citing Mexico’s embassy in Russia.
“Russia’s invitation to participate in President Sheinbaum’s inauguration was sent to President Putin,” Izvestia quoted a representative of the Mexican embassy as saying.
“The Russian president will decide whether he will personally participate in the ceremony or appoint another high-ranking official to do so on his behalf.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in February. 2022.
Although Russia is not a member of the ICC, Mexico is. But the two countries have forged close ties, with Putin congratulating Sheinbaum on his June victory, calling Mexico Russia’s “historically friendly partner in Latin America.”
A Russian military unit participated in September 2023 in a parade that marked Mexico’s independence day, generating harsh criticism from former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador that his country gave a platform to the forces that invaded Ukraine.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
