Romanian Foreign Minister: "Putin must ask for permission to fly over airspace"
No flight has been confirmed, and no request has been submitted to allow Russian President Vladimir Putin access to Romanian airspace for his trip to Budapest, said Bucharest Foreign Minister Oana Ţoiu.
Oana Ţoiu: “Let’s just focus on the basics – Putin should ask for permission”
Asked on Monday in Brussels if Romania would provide access to airspace for the Russian president to arrive in Hungary, where new negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are to take place, Oana Ţoiu noted that such a request has not yet been submitted.
“Let’s just focus on the basics, which are good practice for Putin to ask for permission before entering European airspace,” said Romania’s Foreign Minister, according to News.ro.
If Putin flies to Budapest and decides to fly over an EU member state, he will need a derogation from the flight bans imposed on Russian aircraft after the invasion of Ukraine.
Three additional hours of flight time for a route that avoids most EU countries
According to the specialized publication Air Live, a route that would allow the Russian presidential plane to avoid the airspace of most European Union countries would involve flying over the Caspian Sea, Iran, Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, Montenegro, Serbia and, finally, Hungary, with an estimated total of approximately 5,000 kilometers.
“This route would extend the flight by almost three hours compared to a direct route, of only 1,500 kilometers”, writes Digi24.
While the Russian presidential plane — a modified Ilyushin Il-96, nicknamed the “Flying Kremlin,” equipped with four engines and defense systems — is fully capable of long-haul flights, the extended route will require careful coordination with Turkish and Serbian air traffic control and potential contingency plans in case of weather or diplomatic complications.
Flying over the Black Sea poses operational risks
Security experts note that flying over the Black Sea continues to pose operational risks, especially given the military activity in the region.
Since the imposition of flight bans in Western airspace in early 2022, Russian diplomatic planes have been forced to detour through Central Asia, the Middle East, or the Balkans to reach destinations that were hours away.
Trump-Putin Summit
US President Donald Trump confirmed last week that he would meet with Vladimir Putin for further talks on peace in Ukraine. The summit is expected to take place in the next two weeks, with the Hungarian capital being proposed as the venue.
Asked if Ukrainian President Zelensky would be involved, Trump said that *"the two leaders don't like each other." "We'll be involved as a three-way meeting, but we might be separate," the US president added.
The Russian president's expected visit to Budapest has sparked outrage in the EU. Ahead of a meeting of EU member states in Luxembourg on Monday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that "there is no place for war criminals in Europe." "The only place for Putin in Europe is in The Hague, in front of the tribunal, not in any of our capitals," the Lithuanian minister added, according to Digi24.
