Poland has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin of possible arrest if he crosses its airspace for a summit with US President Donald Trump in Hungary.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Putin for allegedly deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, an accusation the Kremlin denied. This obligates the court’s member states – including Poland – to arrest Putin if he sets foot on its territory.
“I cannot guarantee that an independent Polish court won’t order the government to escort such an aircraft down to hand the suspect to the court in The Hague,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told Radio Rodzina.
“And, therefore, if this summit is to take place, hopefully with the participation of the victim of the aggression, the aircraft will use a different route.”
Last week, Trump said he aims to hold a summit with Putin in the Hungarian capital Budapest within two weeks in a push to end the war.
Bulgaria signaled it would allow Putin to use its airspace if this could help secure peace in Ukraine, Bulgarian News Agency BTQ quoted Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev as saying.
Any trip to Budapest would require Putin to cross the airspace of other EU countries. All these states are ICC members, but Hungary is in the process of leaving.
The Trump-Putin summit is facing uncertainty. Though Trump had said the summit would take place within weeks, the Kremlin says no date has yet been set.
Photo credit: Imago
