THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Vladimir Putin is expected to soon travel to Hungary for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about ending the war in Ukraine – even as the Russian leader faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
Putin is wanted by the court on a warrant issued in March 2023 for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of children from Ukraine during the conflict sparked by Moscow's invasion of the neighboring country.
The court, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, relies on help from other countries to arrest suspects. It seems unlikely that there will be any cooperation from Hungary, which earlier this year rolled out the red carpet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. Netanyahu categorically denies the accusations.
After hosting Netanyahu, nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in April that his country would begin the process of withdrawing from the court.
Briefly about the International Criminal Court
The court was created in 2002 and aims to hold leaders and senior officials accountable for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. It has 125 member states, but the world's three largest powers—the United States, Russia and China—are not members. Ukraine officially joined the court in January.
The court has more than 900 staff and a budget this year of just over 195 million euros ($228 million).
In a sign of problems arresting suspects, judges have issued arrest warrants for 61 people, while 30 remain at large.
The ICC is a court of last resort, meaning it only hears cases where other countries' legal systems are unable or unwilling to prosecute suspects.
The US and Russia oppose the trial
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the court's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, some ICC judges and two of Khan's deputies. Trump accuses the court of “illegitimate and unjustified actions” directed against America and Israel.
Trump previously imposed sanctions on Khan's predecessor Fatou Bensouda during his first term in the White House. The Biden administration subsequently lifted those sanctions.
Russia also rejects the court's authority and has issued arrest warrants for Khan and the ICC judge who signed Putin's warrant.
Putin has already traveled abroad since the warrant was issued in 2023, including to Mongolia, an ICC member state. He also visited China and North Korea, which are not members of the court.
Countries that have withdrawn from the trial
The only remaining countries are Burundi and the Philippines, whose former president Rodrigo Duterte remains in custody in a court cell in The Hague after he was arrested on charges of crimes against humanity related to his government's deadly drug crackdown.
Last month, the ruling military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger said three African countries were also withdrawing from the court, accusing it of what they called selective justice.
ICC prosecutor goes on leave due to ethics investigation
Khan resigned pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. He categorically denied allegations that he tried to force his assistant into sexual relations for more than a year and groped her against her will.
A completion date for the investigation has not been set.
