Could Switzerland or Hungary Legally Host Putin for a Peace Summit?
Reports suggest that the White House is considering a trilateral meeting between President Biden, Vladimir Putin, and Volodymyr Zelensky. One of the potential host cities being discussed is Budapest, while Geneva has also been floated as a possible location.
But there’s a major legal complication: the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in March 2023, accusing him of war crimes related to the deportation of Ukrainian children. That means if he sets foot in any country that’s a party to the ICC’s Rome Statute, authorities are legally required to arrest him.
This raises serious questions for both Switzerland and Hungary.
Switzerland is an ICC member and would be under a clear legal obligation to detain Putin. Some Swiss officials are reportedly considering a request to the ICC for a temporary exemption if Putin attends a peace summit, but legal experts say there’s no basis in international law for that kind of exception.
Hungary announced earlier this year that it intends to withdraw from the Rome Statute. However, that withdrawal doesn’t take effect until April 2026. Until then, Hungary is still bound by its ICC obligations. Even after leaving, it wouldn’t be absolved of obligations that existed while it was still a member.
Maksym Vishchyk, an adviser at Global Rights Compliance, has argued that failing to arrest Putin in either Switzerland or Hungary would amount to a clear breach of international law. He also pointed out that the duty to cooperate with the ICC isn’t conditional on political considerations, even in the name of peace talks.
This makes the situation particularly awkward for Geneva, a city known as a hub of international law and diplomacy. Critics say that allowing Putin to walk freely into Geneva while under an ICC arrest warrant would undermine everything the city stands for.
Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—known for his close ties to both Trump and Putin—appears more open to hosting. The US Secret Service has reportedly made preparations for Budapest, but there has been no official confirmation from the Kremlin about Putin’s willingness to attend.
If such a summit happens, it would be the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Trump has promoted the idea as part of his push to force direct negotiations, but many in Ukraine and the West believe Putin is simply buying time to secure more territorial gains.
For now, the biggest question isn’t just whether the summit will happen—but whether Switzerland or Hungary could even legally host it without openly violating international law.
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