Putin is heavily sanctioned, but he still managed to travel a lot this year

• Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled extensively this year, despite being sanctioned by the West.
• His meetings were mostly in Russia or Asia. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
• But ICC member Mongolia did not arrest Putin, citing its reliance on Russian energy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was a social butterfly this year, traveling to various countries and meeting foreign dignitaries at home — even though he is heavily sanctioned.

The Russian leader started the year mostly in his country ahead of the presidential election in March in which he won by a landslide.

Soon after, Putin started traveling and hobnobbing with dignitaries, primarily at home and also in Asia.

In all, Putin took 11 international trips this year, according to TASS state news agency.

Since Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court, his travel was still limited — but some world leaders came to him instead. He took part in over 220 events with 54 world leaders, per TASS.

In July, Putin met Indonesia’s then-President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who was visiting in his capacity as defense minister. Prabowo described Russia “as a real friend” during his visit with the Russian leader.

In September, Putin met Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the sidelines of an economic forum.

In October, Putin hosted the BRICS summit involving a group of major emerging economies, where he met a number of world leaders including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Away from home, here’s who Putin met and what he did.

Putting on a full bromance display with Xi in May

The first notable person Putin met this year was Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The Russian leader traveled to Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart.

Xi rolled out the red carpet for Putin in Beijing with a show of pomp and pageantry featuring a marching band, a guard of honor, a 21-gun salute on Tiananmen Square, and flag-waving children.

Putin was also treated to a banquet featuring delicacies like Peking Duck, sea cucumber, and sea bass in shrimp cream.

For Xi, Russia is a strategic partner against Western dominance. For Putin, the Chinese connection is more than geopolitics.

China has been a closing trade partner of Russia even before the invasion of Ukraine, and ties between the two have only gotten tighter since the war started.

Since the EU’s sweeping sanctions against Russia, Moscow has steered the country’s trade — especially in oil — eastward, particularly to China and India.

Trade between Russia and China hit a record $240 billion in 2023, a 26% jump from 2022.

Putin followed his international itinerary by visiting the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Uzbekistan in the same month.

North Korea

In June, Putin made his way to Pyongyang, where he spent a day cozying up to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

The last time the Russian leader visited the isolated nation was in 2000.

Kim showered Putin with presents, a welcoming ceremony involving a large crowd, a banquet, and a concert.

Among the gifts Kim gave Putin were what appears to be a portrait of the Russian leader, a bust bearing Putin’s likeness, a Russian-made Aurus limousine, several white horses, and a pair of Pungsan hunting dogs for the avid hunter.

Vietnam

In June, Putin visited Vietnam, a supply chain hot spot for many multinational companies diversifying their operations outside China.

The US embassy in Vietnam issued sharp criticism of the visit, saying that “no country should give Putin a platform to promote his war of aggression and otherwise allow him to normalize his atrocities.”

During his visit, Putin was gifted with an installation art performance featuring a sculpture of “whinnying war horse, galloping majestically under the canopy of a birch forest,” according to information from a Vietnamese government website.

The late Vietnamese leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who died the following month, presented Putin with the gift, which was accompanied by a light show. The light show featured images of a young Putin and the Russian leader today.

It’s unclear if Putin took the sculpture home with him.

Mongolia

In the second half of the year, Putin visited several Central Asian countries, including the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

He also went to Kazakhstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

Among Putin’s trips in the later part of the year, his September visit to Mongolia raised eyebrows.

Mongolia is a member of the International Criminal Court, so it is supposed to enforce the organization’s arrest warrant for Putin.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead, Mongolia gave Putin a lavish welcome and the Russian leader left a free man.

Mongolia explained that Russia is too important for its energy security.

“Mongolia imports 95% of its petroleum products and over 20% of electricity from our immediate neighborhood, which has previously suffered interruption for technical reasons. This supply is critical to ensure our existence and that of our people,” a Mongolian spokesperson told Politico.