As the possibility of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin arises, the challenge of finding a suitable location intensifies. With 125 countries committed to arresting Putin due to an ICC warrant, neutral grounds like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are considered. The meeting aims to address ongoing tensions, including the war in Ukraine.
Putin's Potential Arrest Looms Over Possible Trump Meeting
Putin's Potential Arrest Looms Over Possible Trump Meeting
The presidents of the United States and Russia may meet next week. However, the question remains where such a meeting could take place, as 125 countries have pledged to arrest Putin if he sets foot there.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that Donald Trump might meet Vladimir Putin next week. This announcement follows U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Russia to meet with Putin, among others.
Trump believes Witkoff has made "significant progress" in negotiations, although a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine still seems distant.
"We had good talks with Putin today, and there is a great chance we can approach the end. The road has been long, and it continues to be long, but there is a great possibility that a meeting will happen very soon," Trump said, according to The Guardian.
In addition to Putin, Trump also wants to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to sources from The New York Times. However, a meeting with all three leaders is not very likely.
Putin Could Be Arrested
If Trump and Putin are to meet, finding a meeting place becomes tricky. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, meaning countries that have signed the Rome Statute are obliged to arrest the Russian president if he travels there.
This involves 125 countries. All EU countries have signed, as well as several other major countries like Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Neither the U.S. nor Russia has ratified the Rome Statute, but historically, the countries' presidents usually meet on neutral ground.
After World War II, Truman and Stalin met in Germany, and during the Cold War, meetings between the countries' leaders were held in states like Switzerland, France, and Spain. All these states have signed the Rome Statute, so a meeting cannot take place there.
Possible Meeting Locations
In 1943, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met in Tehran, but a meeting between Putin and Trump in Iran also seems unlikely after the U.S. attack on Iran earlier this summer.
So, which countries remain?
Saudi Arabia and Turkey appear as possible meeting places, writes The Guardian. Russia and Ukraine have held negotiations there during the war.
Another option is Hungary. The country has signed the Rome Statute, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wants to leave the ICC and earlier this year welcomed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite an arrest warrant against him.