As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepare for a high-stakes meeting in the “coming days,” four cities have emerged as potential hosts for the summit, according to officials familiar with the planning.
While Istanbul, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Budapest have all been floated, legal and geopolitical constraints appear to have narrowed the real shortlist to just two: Istanbul and Abu Dhabi.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Thursday that both sides had “agreed in principle” on the summit and its venue.
“Details will come later,” he added.
A senior U.S. official confirmed that venue discussions remain ongoing, but emphasized that no final decision has been made.
ICC Warrant Limits Options
The primary constraint shaping the venue debate is the International Criminal Court’s 2023 arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges. As a result, over 120 ICC member states — including many traditional hosts of U.S.-Russia summits such as Finland, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria — would be legally obligated to detain the Russian president upon entry.
That has ruled out cities like Geneva and Helsinki, which hosted Cold War-era summits and the infamous Trump-Putin meeting in 2018.
Other iconic venues are similarly ruled out: Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom — all prior hosts of superpower summits — are ICC members. Potsdam, where Truman met Stalin in 1945, is unavailable due to Germany’s ICC obligations. Even Yalta — where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill convened — is off the table, as it lies in Russian-occupied Crimea.
1. Abu Dhabi – Putin’s Preferred Option
With most of Europe legally off-limits, the Gulf has emerged as the most viable and neutral option. On Thursday, Putin explicitly named the United Arab Emirates as “one of the suitable, quite suitable locations” for the summit, following his meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Moscow.
“We have many friends who are ready to help us organize events of this kind,” Putin said. “The UAE is one of them.”
The UAE is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and has maintained cordial relations with both Washington and Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine. It also played host to back-channel diplomacy in the conflict’s early stages.
Both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are reportedly under consideration.
2. Istanbul – Erdoğan’s Diplomatic Encore
Turkey, another non-ICC member, is actively lobbying to host. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said recently he is holding talks with both Trump and Putin in hopes of bringing them together in Istanbul, which previously hosted multiple rounds of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in 2022 and 2023.
“We will see if we can bring these leaders together in Istanbul. That is our effort,” Erdoğan said.
Turkey’s historic role as a diplomatic bridge, coupled with Erdoğan’s personal relationships with both leaders, makes it a natural contender. The coastal city of Antalya has also been discussed as a potential venue.
However, Putin’s reported preference for the UAE may reflect Moscow’s discomfort with Erdoğan’s push to include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the summit.
3. Riyadh – Desert Diplomacy
Saudi Arabia offers similar advantages to the UAE: it is not bound by the ICC, has the capacity to host high-security events, and holds established ties with both sides.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has positioned Riyadh as a quiet mediator in recent years and is viewed in Washington and Moscow as a leader who can offer logistical neutrality.
Still, Riyadh is seen as a fallback option rather than a frontrunner.
4. Budapest – Legally Safe, Politically Controversial
Hungary has also emerged as a wildcard. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of both Trump and Putin, has announced his government’s intention to withdraw from the ICC — effectively shielding Putin from arrest.
However, hosting the summit in Budapest would likely draw backlash from European allies. EU has warned against handing Orbán what they see as a “legitimizing photo op” for Putin. It may also be not the top choice as both Trump and Putin appear to prefer bypassing the European Union entirely.
