Poland has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to fly through its airspace to attend the planned summit in Hungary with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Polish authorities announced that if Putin violates Polish airspace, they will be obliged to enforce an international arrest warrant, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria has expressed its willingness to allow Putin’s plane to pass through its airspace en route to Hungary, according to Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev.
Last week, Trump spoke about the possibility of meeting Putin in Budapest as he seeks to broker a peace deal to end the war. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine. Russia refuses to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and rejects the accusations.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski warned in an interview with Radio Rodzina that he cannot guarantee a Polish court wouldn’t order the government to arrest Putin if he flies through Polish airspace, in compliance with the ICC warrant.
The ICC order requires all member states to arrest Putin if he enters their territory. Sikorski expressed hope that if the summit takes place successfully and with Putin’s participation, his plane will take an alternative route to avoid a clash with the law.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintains closer ties with Russia than most European Union countries. Authorities in Budapest have pledged to ensure Putin’s attendance at the summit and his safe return to Moscow.
To avoid flying over Hungary, the Russian delegation would have to pass through the airspace of at least one other EU member state. All EU countries are part of the ICC, except for Hungary, which is in the process of withdrawing from the court.
Bulgarian Minister Georgiev added that Bulgaria would be willing to allow Putin’s flight if it helps promote global peace, noting that no official request from Russia has been received so far.
