Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to travel to Hungary for a high-stakes summit with United States President Donald Trump, marking their second attempt in recent months to broker peace in Ukraine. The upcoming meeting in Budapest, expected within weeks, has already sent ripples through European capitals and reignited debate about the best path forward for ending the war that has gripped the continent for years.
The first Trump-Putin summit, held in Alaska in August 2025, ended without a breakthrough. Yet, according to Euronews, both leaders are determined to try again, this time choosing Hungary as their venue—a decision that has drawn both praise and skepticism across the globe.
The circumstances surrounding Putin’s travel are anything but ordinary. Since 2023, the Russian president has been the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children during the conflict. Under the 1998 Rome Statute, ICC member states are obliged to arrest those with outstanding warrants on their territory or in their airspace. However, as Al Jazeera reports, Hungary has recently set itself apart by announcing its intention to withdraw from the ICC, making it a rare safe haven for Putin in Europe.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a populist leader with close ties to both Trump and Putin, has been quick to champion Budapest as the only place in Europe where such a summit could happen. On October 17, 2025, Orbán declared on social media, “Hungary is the island of PEACE,” underscoring his belief that dialogue—not confrontation—is the key to resolving the Ukraine crisis.
Preparations for the summit are already underway. Trump, speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, explained the rationale behind picking Hungary: “We like Viktor Orbán. He [Putin] likes him, I like him,” Trump said, describing Hungary as a safe country and praising Orbán for his leadership. “I think he’ll be a very good host,” Trump concluded, according to Reuters.
Behind the scenes, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has been coordinating with Kremlin advisor Yuriy Ushakov to ensure Putin’s arrival and safety. Szijjártó emphasized Hungary’s intention to host the Russian president “with respect,” saying the country would ensure “successful negotiations, and then [Putin] returns home.”
Yet, Putin’s journey to Budapest is fraught with geopolitical complications. The ICC’s lack of an enforcement mechanism means it relies on member states to make arrests—a point not lost on the Kremlin. As spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged, “many questions” remain about the president’s travel route. The most direct flight path to Hungary would require traversing the airspace of countries like Poland and the Baltic states, all ICC members with strained relations with Moscow. Recent airspace violations by Russian jets have only heightened regional tensions, making a straightforward journey unlikely.
Alternative routes are under consideration. Putin could fly through friendly Belarus, then skirt around Poland by passing through Slovakia—whose government, led by Robert Fico, has maintained close ties with Moscow and continued importing Russian energy despite U.S. pressure. Another option would see Putin taking a more circuitous path, perhaps following the example of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, another ICC fugitive, who recently avoided several European countries en route to the United Nations in New York. Georgia, Turkiye, and Greece could provide a less risky corridor, though each presents its own diplomatic challenges.
Since the ICC warrant was issued, Putin has sharply limited his international travel. He visited Mongolia in 2024, where he was welcomed with a lavish ceremony, and stopped in China for a major summit earlier this year—both countries are not ICC members. His only other notable trip was to Alaska for the first summit with Trump, a journey that allowed him to avoid ICC member states entirely by flying over Russian territory and the Bering Strait.
The planned summit has triggered a range of reactions across Europe and the United States. The European Commission cautiously welcomed the announcement, with spokesperson Olof Gill stating, “Any meeting that moves forward just and lasting peace in Ukraine is welcome.” Gill reiterated the EU’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and weakening Russia’s ability to wage war. “It’s long overdue for Russia to stop its senseless and illegal aggression against Ukraine. From the EU side, we are doing everything to support Ukraine as well as weaken Russia’s ability to wage its war,” Gill said, as reported by Euronews.
However, not everyone is convinced the Budapest summit will yield positive results. Mainstream European political parties, including the European People’s Party and Renew Europe, have voiced skepticism. Some, like the Greens/EFA and the Left, have gone so far as to demand that Putin be arrested for war crimes if he sets foot on European soil. In contrast, far-right groups such as the Patriots for Europe have welcomed the talks, arguing that “peace is built through dialogue, not sanctions,” as spokesperson Ágnes Karándi put it.
Political analysts are also wary. Dániel Hegedűs of the German Marshall Fund described the summit as “a huge success for the Orbán government and a deliberate challenge to the unity of the EU and its foreign and security policy.” Alberto Alemanno, a professor at HEC Paris, accused Orbán of acting as a “Trojan horse within the EU,” warning that the meeting could give Hungary undue authority to speak on behalf of the Union, despite Orbán’s opposition to Ukraine’s EU accession.
Indeed, Orbán’s stance on Ukraine has long put him at odds with other EU leaders. During Hungary’s Council presidency in 2024, he vetoed changes to EU enlargement rules that would have facilitated Ukraine’s accession talks. “I told them, I do not agree, so this plan is dead,” Orbán declared, accusing EU leaders of seeking confrontation with Russia.
For Trump, the Budapest summit is as much about diplomacy as it is about energy politics. While the U.S. president has repeatedly urged European allies to stop buying Russian oil, he acknowledged Hungary’s unique predicament. “Hungary is sort of stuck because they have one pipeline that’s been there for years and years and years, and they’re inland,” Trump said, expressing understanding for Budapest’s continued reliance on Russian energy.
As the date of the summit approaches, the world will be watching closely to see whether Trump and Putin can break the deadlock over Ukraine. While history shows that the ICC’s arrest warrants are rarely enforced against sitting heads of state—few have faced justice at The Hague without dramatic shifts in their countries’ leadership—the Budapest meeting underscores the complex interplay between justice, diplomacy, and realpolitik in today’s Europe.
With peace in Ukraine hanging in the balance, the outcome of this summit could reshape alliances and test the resolve of international institutions in ways few could have predicted.
