Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a new meeting with Donald Trump, and this is expected to happen within 2 weeks – in the Hungarian capital Budapest.
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest and the world is wondering where his plane will fly from to land smoothly in Hungary and then return back. The options are not many.
The first is the most logical - through Poland, but Russian experts expect the Poles to not give permission for such a flight and create problems. Military expert and pilot Major General Vladimir Popov told MK.ru that the Poles could ban Putin's flight due to political ambitions.
According to Popov, it is much more likely that Putin will head south - via Romania/Bulgaria. "This route is not only shorter, but I think it would be easier for us to coordinate," the Russian pilot said.
There is another possible route - via the Black Sea straits to the Mediterranean and from there to the north, but this route is longer.
"We have our own fighter escort that can guarantee the president's safety," said Vladimir Popov. He predicted that US President Donald Trump would do everything possible to guarantee Putin's safety while he flies over NATO territory. "Therefore, the representatives of the European countries will stand still until our plane flies over," Popov said.
Hungary will guarantee that Putin will be able to enter the country for the meeting with Trump and that he will be able to return home afterwards, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said.
At this stage, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has not received a request from Moscow for Russian President Vladimir Putin's plane to fly through Bulgarian airspace on its way to Hungary, where he is expected to meet with his American counterpart Donald Trump, BNR reported.
The high-level meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump could take place within two weeks or a little later, but there are still many things to be settled before a date can be set, the Kremlin announced.