In early April, Hungary announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. However, the withdrawal will not take effect until June 2026, according to BBC. 

Thus, Hungary still has to comply with the rules of the international court, namely the Rome Statute, until the withdrawal takes effect. So, according to the rules, Hungary is still obliged to arrest those wanted by the ICC. Among them is Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes, specifically over the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine at the start of the invasion. The Kremlin has denied the charges, calling them"scandalous."

Budapest accused the Hague Tribunal of being politically motivated. Thus, Hungary became the first state to leave the ICC since its founding, in 2022.

In a statement, the Presidency of the Assembly of Member States, which oversees the ICC, said it"regrets this turn of events," adding that the decision "overshadows common efforts to seek justice and weakens efforts to combat impunity."

However, the court faces challenges with regard to international leaders for whom arrest warrants have been issued. In 2015, South Africa refused to arrest former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes and genocide.

Hungary and Mongolia also recently refused to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom an arrest warrant was also issued. The Israeli leader visited Budapest just one day after Viktor Orbán announced to the UN that Hungary would leave the ICC.

Although the magistrates of the International Criminal Court found that the two states did not cooperate, the court did not impose sanctions or penalties.

As a body, the ICC in The Hague does not have its own mechanism for executing court decisions, so only the authorities of member states are able to make arrests.

Hungary once again demonstrates its lack of cooperation

Despite the fact that Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC will only take effect on June 2, 2026, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó stated in a press conference that the Hungarian authorities"will ensure that Putin's entry into Hungary will be successful, that the negotiations will end well," but also that the Kremlin leader will return home safely.

Although Russian flights are banned in EU airspace, Hungary has assured that Putin will be welcome. "Hungary is ready to host the US-Russia summit. We will ensure all conditions for productive talks so that peace can finally return to Europe," Szijjártó wrote on social media.

Trump said Thursday he would meet with Putin in Budapest for talks on ending the war in Ukraine. The exact date has not yet been set, but the meeting will take place"in the coming weeks."

Ahead of the Putin-Trump summit in Budapest, Zelensky flew to Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump. The meeting between the Ukrainian leader and the US president will take place on Friday evening, at 8:00 p.m. Romanian time.