Hungary to ensure Putin can enter country for Trump meeting in Budapest

BUDAPEST: Hungary will ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin can safely enter and leave the country for his planned summit with US President Donald Trump in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday (Oct 17).

Trump agreed on Thursday to hold a second summit with Putin in the Hungarian capital within two weeks to discuss the war in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said preparations were “going full steam ahead” after speaking with both leaders.

The meeting would mark Putin’s first visit to an EU member state since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine, a move Moscow has rejected as politically motivated. Hungary, which is in the process of withdrawing from the ICC, has signalled it will not act on the warrant.

PUTIN NOT UNDER EU TRAVEL BAN

An EU spokesperson said the bloc would welcome any talks that could help bring peace to Ukraine, noting that while Putin is under an asset freeze, he is not subject to a travel ban.

However, an EU-wide flight ban on Russian aircraft imposed after Moscow’s 2022 invasion could complicate logistics, said Ian Petchenik, communications director at flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

“A decision will need to be made at either the EU level or the national level to allow a flight if that is where they’re going to meet,” he said.

Petchenik noted that the shortest route into Hungary would pass over Poland and Slovakia, while a longer route could come via the Black Sea and Romania.

HUNGARY ASSERTS SOVEREIGNTY

Szijjarto said Budapest would not consult other nations about the visit.

“We will ensure that he enters Hungary, has successful negotiations here, and then returns home,” he told reporters.

“There is no need for any kind of consultation with anyone — we are a sovereign country. We will receive him with respect, host him, and provide the conditions for him to negotiate with the American president.”

Orban, a long-time Trump ally who has maintained close ties with Moscow, said the summit “will be about peace,” adding that a deal could “usher in a new phase of economic development in Hungary and Europe.”

He said the meeting could take place within the next two weeks, depending on the outcome of a planned meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week.

ZELENSKYY “REALISTIC” AFTER WHITE HOUSE MEETING

Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump at the White House, where the two discussed air defence needs, including Kyiv’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

However, no deal was reached, and when asked if he was now more or less optimistic about receiving the weapons, Zelenskyy said: “I am realistic.”

Relations between Budapest and Kyiv remain fraught. Zelenskyy last month accused Hungary of flying drones into Ukrainian territory, prompting Orban to retort that Ukraine “was not an independent sovereign state.”

Hungary has also remained reliant on Russian oil and gas supplies, even as the EU seeks to phase them out by 2028. Orban has accused Brussels of taking a “pro-war stance” and urged Europe to open its own diplomatic channels with Russia ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting.