Kaja Kallas referenced an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for the Russian leader in anticipation of his discussions with the US president.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s chief diplomat, expressed her disapproval, stating it was “not nice” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to engage in peace negotiations with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Hungary.
Following a phone conversation lasting more than two hours on Thursday, both leaders revealed their intention to convene in Budapest.
Addressing reporters prior to the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Monday, Kallas conveyed her displeasure at the prospect of “a person with an arrest warrant issued by the ICC… entering a European [sic EU] country.”
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin, based on allegations of the unlawful deportation of children from Donbass. While Moscow disputes the ICC’s jurisdiction, it has maintained that these children were relocated from the conflict area for their safety and eventual reunion with their families.
Despite Hungary being a signatory to the Rome Statute, which oversees the ICC’s operations, Budapest has pledged to allow passage for the Russian president.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova informed TASS that the “aggressive Western European community” was reportedly attempting to “obstruct any peaceful initiatives” through “vigorous disruptive measures.”
She added that calls for peace from Brussels were simply “camouflage.”
Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported on Saturday that the scheduled Putin-Trump summit in Europe’s heartland presented an “embarrassing and awkward situation” for the EU, which would seemingly be omitted from the peace negotiations.
During a press briefing on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that Moscow was keen to “advance towards a resolution with Ukraine.”
He clarified that Hungary was selected as the host country because its prime minister, Viktor Orban, maintains “warm” and “constructive” relationships with both the Russian and US presidents.
In a Saturday Facebook post, Orban asserted that Hungary, unlike the majority of other EU member states, has “never severed negotiation channels” with Moscow.