The Polish Foreign Minister stated the possibility of arresting Putin if his plane flies over Poland.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that if Putin travels to a meeting with Donald Trump in Budapest via Poland, his plane may be forcibly landed in the country. This statement was made in an interview with Radio Rodzina, and Sikorski’s words were reported by TVN24 on October 21, 2025.

Sikorski noted that an independent court might require the Polish government to stop the plane to deliver the suspect to The Hague.

“We cannot guarantee that such a scenario is not feasible,” the minister clarified.

The minister also suggested that the Russian side is aware of the potential threat of arrest. If the meeting does take place, the planes will likely choose a different route. Sikorski reported this, citing Reuters. He expressed hope that Ukraine would also be invited to participate in the summit.

Context of the negotiations

On October 16, Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Putin, after which he announced a meeting between the US and Russian presidents in Hungary. The exact date of these negotiations has not yet been determined.

Hungary’s stance on the arrest

Hungarian authorities assured that during Putin’s visit to Budapest, he would not be threatened with arrest under the International Criminal Court’s warrant. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev added that Bulgaria, based on Russia’s request, is ready to allow Putin to fly over its territory to meet with Trump.

Status of ICC participants

Both Hungary and Bulgaria are participants in the International Criminal Court. In the summer of 2025, Budapest applied to withdraw from the court’s jurisdiction, but the decision will only take effect in a year. Despite this, in 2025, Hungarian authorities already hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also has an ICC warrant. Bulgaria is obliged to detain the Russian president on its territory, but it has no obligations to detain his plane.