Putin will go abroad in the fall – Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to make foreign visits this autumn but the details of his destinations and itinerary will not yet be revealed, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has announced.
Journalists asked Peskov on Monday if Putin was planning to make any trips abroad soon, considering the arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Such visits have been “planned, yes – for the fall,” the spokesman replied.
However, he declined to name any specific destinations, saying that “we will inform you about it in due time. For obvious reasons, we don’t want to announce this in advance.”
Peskov also confirmed that a meeting between Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was in the works and would take place “soon.” The official announcement on its date and venue should be expected shortly, he added.
In early August, Erdogan’s office stated that the Russian leader was going to arrive in Türkiye for the talks. However, Turkish media outlets later reported that the meeting would likely take place in Russia. A diplomatic source told Tass last week that the two leaders were going to get together in the Russian resort of Sochi on September 4.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials, that the talks between Putin and Erdogan could be staged in Moscow on September 8, focusing on the revival of the Black Sea grain deal.
Putin participated in the BRICS summit, which took place in South Africa last week, via a video link. The Russian delegation in Johannesburg was headed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. On Friday, the Kremlin announced that the Russian leader did not plan on personally attending a meeting of G20 leaders to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10.
In March, the ICC formally accused Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights of “forcible transfer of the population,” referring to evacuations of minors from combat zones amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Moscow has dismissed those allegations as false, while accusing the Hague-based court of being politically compromised. Russia, which never ratified the 1998 Rome Statute that established the ICC, also pointed out that the body had no authority over it.
