Poland warns Vladimir Putin against flying through its airspace to summit in Hungary
Poland has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that if he flies through its airspace to a summit in Hungary with US President Donald Trump, he will be forced to execute an international arrest warrant. This was stated by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, reports Reuters.
“I cannot guarantee that an independent Polish court will not order the government to escort such a plane to hand over a suspect to the court in The Hague. I think the Russian side knows this. And therefore, if this summit takes place, I hope, with the participation of the victim of aggression, the plane will follow a different route”, — noted Radosław Sikorski.
To avoid flying over Ukraine, the Russian delegation will be forced to use the airspace of at least one EU country. All EU states are members of the ICC, although Hungary is in the process of withdrawing from the court. According to the warrant of the International Criminal Court, member states are obliged to arrest Putin if he is on their territory.
Recall that in 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin on charges of illegal transfer and deportation of the population, including children, from the occupied Ukrainian territories. Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and rejects the charges.
On October 16, 2025, US President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with Putin. They discussed the possibility of transferring Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. According to Trump, Putin did not like the idea of supplying these weapons to Kiev. They also touched on the issue of a meeting in Hungary, but the date of the summit is not yet known.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán supported the initiative to hold the summit and spoke with Trump and Putin. According to him, the country has already begun preparations for a “peace summit”. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary would receive Putin, despite the ICC warrant issued due to the deportation of Ukrainian children.
