EU top diplomat says Putin's possible visit to Hungary "not nice"

On October 20, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, is unhappy that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, will be visiting a European Union member state.

Kallas said that it was "not nice" that Putin might travel to EU member Hungary for talks on Ukraine, per Reuters.

"Regarding Budapest, no, it's not nice ... to see that really a person put to the arrest warrant by the ICC is coming to a European country," Kallas said, adding that the "question is whether there is any outcome".

U.S. President Donald Trump said on October 16 that he would soon meet Putin in Budapest.

Kallas told reporters ahead of a gathering of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg that Trump's efforts to bring peace are welcome but that it is also important for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet with the Russian leader.

"America has a lot of strength to pressure Russia to come to the negotiation table, if they use that then, of course, this is good if Russia stops this war," Kallas said.

The anticipated summit between the US and Russian leaders in Budapest—announced on October 16, 2025, following a 2.5-hour phone call described by Trump as "very productive"—marks the second direct meeting between the leaders this year, after their August 2025 talks in Anchorage, Alaska, which yielded no breakthroughs on Ukraine.

No firm date has been set for the summit, but both sides suggest it could occur within two weeks, preceded by advisor-level talks led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The agenda focuses on ending Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, amid Trump's recent threats to supply Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles if Moscow stalls—though he later softened, saying Putin "wants to end the war."

By Khagan Isayev