Vladimir Putin will not travel to Türkiye on 12 February, reported Russian state media, citing Ankara sources.
A trip to Türkiye would have marked Putin’s first visit to a NATO member state since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But the March 2023 arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court in The Hague has further limited his foreign travel options. Putin now only visits nations not party to the ICC’s founding Rome Statute—and Türkiye remains one of the few countries he can still access.
“Behind the scenes, Ankara sources say Putin’s planned visit to Türkiye has been postponed, potentially to late April or early May,” reported the Telegram channel RIA Kremlinpool, run by journalists from Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Previously, Moscow and Ankara confirmed Putin would travel to Türkiye. Turkish sources unofficially named the date as 12 February. The Kremlin, however, did not name a date.
Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Russia and met with Putin in Sochi. The subject of their talk was the so-called “grain deal” regarding the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. Russia withdrew from the deal unilaterally and Erdogan failed to persuade Putin to renew it.
Read more:
- Armenia ratifies Rome Statute, gains power to arrest Putin on its soil
- ICC arrest warrant for Putin: what’s next, and do we still need a Tribunal? Human rights defender answers
- Putin will not attend BRICS summit to avoid ICC arrest warrant
- South Africa to consult Russia on ICC arrest warrant for Putin ahead of BRICS summit
