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To reach Hungary, Vladimir Putin will have to pass through the territories of European Union states that recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and the arrest warrant against him...
Poland on Tuesday warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to travel through its airspace to attend a summit in Budapest, Hungary, with US President Donald Trump, saying he would be forced to execute an international arrest warrant if he did so.
Trump said last week, after a long phone call with his Russian counterpart, that he planned to meet with Putin in Budapest as part of his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023, charging him with the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction and denies the charges.
"I cannot guarantee that an independent Polish court will not order the government to escort such a plane to hand over the suspect to the Hague tribunal," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Radio Rodzina.
The ICJ's arrest warrant obliges the court's member states to arrest Putin if he trespasses on their territory, Reuters writes.
"I think the Russian side is aware of this. Therefore, if the summit takes place, I hope with the participation of the victim of aggression, the planes will use a different route," Sikorsky said.
Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains warm relations with Russia, said it would ensure Putin's entry into the country for the summit and his return to his country after it ends.
However, to avoid flying over Ukraine, the Russian delegation would have to fly through the airspace of at least one European Union member state, be it Romania, Poland or Slovakia.
All EU member states are members of the ICC, although Hungary is in the process of withdrawing from the court.
Poland, a NATO member, has been one of Kiev's most ardent supporters since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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