Putin in Kyrgyzstan for first trip abroad since court arrest warrant

Vladimir Putin on Thursday called to strengthen military ties with Kyrgyzstan in a trip to the Central Asian country, his first foreign visit since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him in March.

President Putin is wanted by the court over the deportation of Ukrainian children. Its ruling requires members of the ICC, which does not include Kyrgyzstan, to make the arrest if he sets foot on their territory.

Televised footage showed Mr. Putin greeting Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov in the capital Bishkek for a summit of the post-Soviet group Commonwealth of Independent States.

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"I would like to thank the president for the invitation. We have good reasons (to be here), but even without reasons this visit is long overdue," Mr. Putin said in talks with Japarov.

"I expect that military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Kyrgyzstan... will continue to strengthen and expand," Mr. Putin said.

Kyrgyzstan is part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a NATO-style military alliance of ex-Soviet states led by Russia.