Lithuania’s foreign minister said Monday that there is “no place in Europe for war criminals”, responding to reports that US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed by phone last week to meet in Budapest.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said Lithuania wanted to send a clear message.
“Europe has no place for war criminals. There is no route through Europe for war criminals to attend any events,” Budrys told reporters. “This is something we want to emphasise once again. We firmly support Ukraine and continue to maintain constant pressure on Russia.”
Budrys said he could not imagine how Putin could even cross European airspace, noting that the Russian president is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes.
“It is one thing for President Trump to make diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire and peace,” Budrys said. “But we must uphold the European principles we all agreed upon. The only place for Putin in Europe is in The Hague, before the tribunal – not in any of our capitals.”
Trump on Friday urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach an agreement with Russia, saying both sides should halt fighting along current front lines.
Zelensky, however, reiterated after his meeting with Trump that Ukraine would not accept concessions to Moscow.
During his election campaign last year, Trump pledged to quickly end the war in Ukraine. His peace efforts appeared to stall after a round of high-profile meetings in August, when he spoke with Putin in Alaska and held separate talks at the White House with Zelensky and European allies.
Putin is subject to an ICC arrest warrant for the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
For Putin to travel to Budapest, he would have to cross Ukrainian or other European airspace, where the ICC warrant remains in force. Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC is set to take effect in June 2026, meaning the country remains technically a member until then.
Earlier this year, Budapest hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also faces an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In September, Netanyahu’s plane reportedly crossed Greece and Italy on its way to the UN General Assembly in New York, but avoided French and Spanish airspace.
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