Brussels assured that sanctions cannot prevent Putin and Lavrov from entering the EU

European Union sanctions do not prohibit Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from entering EU member states.

This was stated by European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper, commenting on the upcoming high-level U.S.–Russia talks in Budapest. Her remarks were reported by the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

“The meeting has not been confirmed, and we will not comment on hypothetical scenarios. But if it does take place, there will be no travel bans as such,” Hipper said, adding that Putin and Lavrov are subject to sanctions related to the freezing of Russian assets, but “not specifically to a travel ban.”

Regarding the arrest warrant issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hipper noted that there are “potential exemptions that can be granted by member states, but such exemptions must be issued individually by those states.”

Hipper also added that EU countries can decide for themselves whether to allow Putin’s aircraft to enter their airspace on the way to Hungary, despite existing sanctions that ban Russian planes from using EU airspace.

It should be recalled that Hungary withdrew from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in April. However, international law expert Tamás Lattmann told Euronews that technically, the country remains under the jurisdiction of the Rome Statute for another two weeks, meaning that by law, it would still be obliged to execute the ICC arrest warrant for Putin if he arrives for talks with Trump.

Nonetheless, Budapest already violated this rule when it hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April 2025, citing its prior announcement of withdrawal from the Rome Statute — even though the Hungarian parliament approved the withdrawal bill a month later.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Foreign Ministry stated that the Rome Statute continues to apply to Hungary, since the withdrawal process takes one year.

For his part, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó assured that Budapest will ensure safe entry and exit for President Putin.