BRUSSELS: The European Commission said Friday it welcomes a meeting in Budapest between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin if it can help end the Ukraine war.
Spokespeople said that the EU had to be pragmatic and back any steps that might lead to peace in Ukraine — even though Putin is wanted under an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.
“We live in the real world,” commission spokesman Olof Gill told reporters.
“Meetings don’t always happen in the precise order or format that we would like them to, but if meetings... move us toward a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, then we should welcome them.”
Hungary, though a member of the EU, is in the process of withdrawing from the ICC under a decision by its prime minister, Viktor Orban, who maintains warm relations with Putin.
