Bulgaria has signaled it would open its airspace to allow Russian leader Vladimir Putin to reach a planned summit with US President Donald Trump in Budapest, Hungary.
Bulgaria ready to open skies for Putin
On 20 October, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported that Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev stated his country is prepared to allow Putin’s aircraft to fly through its territory, should a request be made. He made the comment during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.
“Bulgaria will provide an air corridor for Russian President Vladimir Putin, if it is requested. [...] When efforts are made to achieve peace, and if a condition for that is holding a meeting, the most logical thing is for such a meeting to be facilitated in all possible ways,” Georgiev told BNR.
When directly asked whether Bulgaria would open a corridor for Putin, Georgiev responded rhetorically:
“And how do you propose the meeting take place if one of the participants cannot get there?”
BNR also quoted Georgi Markov, who described the planned meeting in Budapest as a “guarantee” that a global war would allegedly be avoided.
If Bulgaria allows Putin’s plane to pass, it would also need to cross either Serbian or Romanian airspace to reach Hungary.
No request from Moscow yet
BNR noted that Moscow has not yet contacted Bulgaria about any potential flight plans. However, Hungary—Moscow's ally inside the EU—has already guaranteed that Putin will be able to enter and exit the country without obstruction.
The European Commission clarified that while both Putin and Lavrov have frozen financial accounts in the EU, there is no formal travel ban preventing them from entering the bloc.
Since March 2023, Putin has been subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, alleging his responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
