Trump announces $1 trillion Middle East deal before returning home
With the announcement, Trump confirmed he would not be headed to Turkey for talks on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. The president had dangled the possibility of a drop-in but Russian President Vladimir Putin decided not to go to Istanbul to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'My daughter had a baby. I'm going to go back home and see that little baby, and then we get back to a lot of work. We'll see what happens with Russia and Ukraine,' Trump said. He noted he'd meet with Putin 'as soon as we can set it up. I was gonna, I would actually leave here and go, I do want to see my beautiful grandson.'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Turkey but won't sit in the talks, noting the United States doesn't 'have high expectations' for a deal. Trump said on Thursday he doesn't expect a deal to be done until he and Putin can meet. In the meantime, the president and UAE leaders announced a $1.4 trillion investment pledge, which includes plans from the UAE's Etihad Airways plans to purchase dozens of American-made Boeing aircraft powered by GE engines. Trump even had kind words for Boeing - a marked change from his recent criticism about its delay in delivering two 747s to serve as the new Air Force Ones. 'It's just my opinion but Boeing makes the best planes. They've had some headaches over the last few years, but they make the best planes,' he said. 'The General Electric engine is phenomenal.'
But his own issues with the aerospace giant remained on his mind. 'I leave now and get on a 42-year-old Boeing,' he said of the current Air Force One. 'The new ones are coming. New ones are coming.' Trump's acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet from the Qatari Royal Family - which he plans to use as an Air Force One - has been one of the controversial issues of the trip. But, in his four-days in the Middle East, Trump has wracked up an astonishing number of deals.
Qatar and the U.S. agreed on a $1.2 trillion 'economic exchange,' which includes a $200 billion order from Qatar Airways for Boeing jets. Saudi Arabia offered a $600 billion investment - including nearly $142 billion in weapons, which the White House described as the largest-ever arms deal. Trump lamented his own legacy coming out of the trip, noting it will be some future president who could receive credit as these investments come to fruition. 'Can you imagine – I'll be sitting at home, who the hell knows where I'll be, and I'll say, 'I did that,' and everyone will say, but somebody's gonna be cutting a ribbon, as well… Somebody's going to be taking the credit for this. You remember, press: This guy did it,' he told reporters.
Trump said it was important that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates be the stops in the first major foreign trip of his second term. 'Coming to Saudi Arabia, Qatar was very important to me because of personal relationships that I had, maybe more than anything else. So it's been an amazing period of time,' he said. 'We're developing a lot of fans. People have said they've never seen anything like taking place over the last four days, in terms of investment,' he added. 'In terms of the kind of money coming back into the United States. And all that money, the money is a nice word, but it's really jobs. We have jobs that are at a level that we very soon will not be able to nobody can duplicate it.' The wealthy gulf nations put on quite the displays for the president - escorting the Beast down wide avenues with camels and horses while red cybertrucks led the motorcade; having dancing women twirling their hair and children with flowers and flags greet; and handing over lavish gifts such as a gold necklace.
Each nation sent fighter planes to escort Air Force One and offered lavish displays of military might and staggering wealth. Leaders also gave Trump state dinners, tours of historical sites, massive mosques and white marble palaces. Trump showed his appreciation. 'As a construction guy, this is perfect marble,' Trump said Wednesday at one of his stops. 'This is what they call perfecto. We appreciate those camels,' he added. 'I haven't seen camels like that in a long time. And really, we appreciate it very much.'
The president enjoyed a 'bromance' with his Muslim counterparts: he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised one another repeatedly. 'I like you too much,' the president told MBS. Trump described Qatar's ruling emir and his family as 'tall, handsome guys.' And he told Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates: 'You're a magnificent man.'
In addition to the massive investment totals over his four-day trip, Trump met with Syria's president and offered renewed optimism for an Iran nuclear deal. There was no breakthrough on the Gaza war, but Trump did suggest turning the area into a 'freedom zone'. 'We're looking at Gaza — and we gotta get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. There's a lot of bad things going on,' the president said.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Israel has begun first stages of its planned assault on Gaza City, says Israeli military spokesman
CAIRO, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Israel has entered the first stages of its planned assault on Gaza City after a clash with Hamas and already has a hold on the outskirts of the city, Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin told reporters on Wednesday.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel to call up around 60,000 reservists before planned offensive on Gaza City, says Israeli military official – Middle East crisis live
Update: Date: 2025-08-20T16:12:11.000Z Title: Israel', 'will call up around 60,000 reservists before a planned offensive to take Gaza City but most forces that would operate in the Gaza Strip's largest urban centre would be active duty soldiers, an Israeli military official said on Wednesday. Content: Call-up notices sent as Israeli plans to increase its offensive; Israel studies Hamas' response to proposal for 60-day ceasefire Tom Ambrose (now) and Charlie Moloney (earlier) Wed 20 Aug 2025 18.12 CEST First published on Wed 20 Aug 2025 13.22 CEST From 1.22pm CEST 13:22 Good afternoon, Israel will call up around 60,000 reservists before a planned offensive to take Gaza City but most forces that would operate in the Gaza Strip's largest urban centre would be active duty soldiers, an Israeli military official said on Wednesday. The call-up notices could be sent in the coming days, with reservists to report for duty in September, the military official said. 'Most of the troops that will be mobilised in this new stage will be active duty and not reservists,' said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. It comes as Israel is studying Hamas' response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials said on Tuesday, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end. Elsewhere: Prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that he treats leaders of other countries with respect after his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu attacked him over his decision to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I don't take these things personally, I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders,' Albanese said during a media briefing. A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war. 33% of respondents did not agree that UN members should recognise a Palestinian state and 9% did not answer. German prosecutors have charged a Russian national they suspect of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and of trying to join militant organisation Islamic State, they said on Wednesday. Prosecutors believe the accused, identified only as Akhmad E. in line with German privacy rules, obtained instructions from the Internet on how to make explosives but the plan failed as he could not get the components he needed. Updated at 1.50pm CEST 6.12pm CEST 18:12 Israel will call up around 60,000 reservists before a planned offensive to take Gaza City but most forces that would operate in the Gaza Strip's largest urban centre would be active duty soldiers, an Israeli military official said on Wednesday. The call-up notices could be sent in the coming days, with reservists to report for duty in September, the military official said. The mayor of the nearby Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, Guy Yifrach, confirmed that Israel has approved a major settlement project on Wednesday in an area of the occupied West Bank that the international community has warned threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israel's approval of a key settlement project in the West Bank undermines the chances of a two-state solution, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has said in a statement. The approval of the project in the area known as E1 'fragments… geographic and demographic unity, entrenching the division of the occupied West Bank into isolated areas and cantons that are disconnected from one another, turning them into something akin to real prisons,' the PA's foreign ministry said in a statement. International aid groups say they have not yet been able to deliver shelter materials to Gaza despite Israeli authorities saying they have lifted restrictions on such supplies, and warn that further delays could cause more Palestinian deaths. Some 154 pallets of humanitarian aid have been airdropped in the Gaza Strip today, according to the IDF. Aircraft from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Singapore and Indonesia dropped the pallets, containing several hundred kilograms of food, according to The Times of Israel. Israel is 'killing all prospects' for peace in the Middle East, Jordan's foreign minister has said amid escalating international outrage over Israel's plans for a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City and plans to massively expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Ayman Safadi made his remarks during a visit to Moscow on the same day that the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, an urban area home to hundreds of thousands of people in the north of the Palestinian territory. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, as Washington kept up its pressure on the war tribunal over its targeting of Israeli leaders. Washington designated Nicolas Yann Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, and Kimberly Prost of Canada, according to the US Treasury and State Department, Reuters reported. A fire broke out near Iran's Tabriz airport on Wednesday, with heavy smoke hanging in the city's sky, Iran's Fars news agency reported, adding operations to control the fire are ongoing. Syria's foreign minister met Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer in Paris on Tuesday to discuss security arrangements in southern Syria, two Syrian sources familiar with the meeting said. Syrian and Israeli officials have been conducting US-mediated talks on de-escalating conflict in southern Syria. French president Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Israel's 'military offensive' to conquer Gaza City 'can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples,' after Israel's defence minister authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists. Israel's plan 'will drag the region into a permanent war,' the French president posted on social media, reiterating his call for an 'international stabilisation mission'. Iran 'cannot completely cut cooperation' with the UN nuclear watchdog but the return of its inspectors is up to the country's security chiefs, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday. The remarks come nearly two months after Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency following its 12-day war with Israel in June. Prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that he treats leaders of other countries with respect after his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu attacked him over his decision to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I don't take these things personally, I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders,' Albanese said during a media briefing. A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war. 33% of respondents did not agree that UN members should recognise a Palestinian state and 9% did not answer. German prosecutors have charged a Russian national they suspect of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and of trying to join militant organisation Islamic State, they said on Wednesday. Prosecutors believe the accused, identified only as Akhmad E. in line with German privacy rules, obtained instructions from the Internet on how to make explosives but the plan failed as he could not get the components he needed. 6.03pm CEST 18:03 Some 154 pallets of humanitarian aid have been airdropped in the Gaza Strip today, according to the IDF. Aircraft from Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Singapore and Indonesia dropped the pallets, containing several hundred kilograms of food, according to The Times of Israel. 5.43pm CEST 17:43 President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two judges and two prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, as Washington kept up its pressure on the war tribunal over its targeting of Israeli leaders. Washington designated Nicolas Yann Guillou of France, Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji, Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal, and Kimberly Prost of Canada, according to the US Treasury and State Department, Reuters reported. ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defence chief Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Guillou is an ICC judge who presided over a pre-trial panel that issued the arrest warrant for Netanyahu. Khan and Niang are the court's two deputy prosecutors. The move comes less than three months after the administration took the unprecedented step of slapping sanctions on four separate ICC judges, saying they have engaged in ICC's 'illegitimate and baseless actions' targeting the US and close ally Israel. ICC, which had slammed the move in June, describing it as an attempt to undermine the independence of the judicial institution, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 5.22pm CEST 17:22 Syria's foreign minister met Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer in Paris on Tuesday to discuss security arrangements in southern Syria, two Syrian sources familiar with the meeting said. Syrian and Israeli officials have been conducting US-mediated talks on de-escalating conflict in southern Syria. A previous round of these talks was held in Paris in late July but ended without a final accord. Syrian state news agency Sana said foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani met with an Israeli delegation on Tuesday, but did not mention Dermer. The agency said the discussions focused on de-escalation, non-interference in Syrian domestic affairs and reactivating a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a UN buffer zone in the Golan Heights. There was no public comment by the Israeli government on the meeting, Reuters reported. 5.02pm CEST 17:02 Israel's approval of a key settlement project in the West Bank undermines the chances of a two-state solution, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has said in a statement. The approval of the project in the area known as E1 'fragments… geographic and demographic unity, entrenching the division of the occupied West Bank into isolated areas and cantons that are disconnected from one another, turning them into something akin to real prisons,' the PA's foreign ministry said in a statement. The approval of the E1 project, which would bisect the occupied West Bank and cut it off from East Jerusalem, was announced last week by sraeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and received final go-ahead from a defence ministry planning commission earlier today Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the E1 announcement. Updated at 5.07pm CEST 4.42pm CEST 16:42 An Israeli tank manoeuvres on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, Israel, today. 4.12pm CEST 16:12 Peter Beaumont Israel is 'killing all prospects' for peace in the Middle East, Jordan's foreign minister has said amid escalating international outrage over Israel's plans for a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City and plans to massively expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Ayman Safadi made his remarks during a visit to Moscow on the same day that the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, an urban area home to hundreds of thousands of people in the north of the Palestinian territory. Echoing the sentiment, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said that the proposed new Gaza offensive would lead to 'true disaster' and drag the region into 'permanent war'. Katz's announcement, which will lead to the mobilisation of an extra 60,000 Israeli troops, was also condemned by Germany, historically one of Israel's closest allies in Europe, which said it 'rejects the escalation' of Israel's campaign in Gaza. 3.54pm CEST 15:54 French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that Israel's 'military offensive' to conquer Gaza City 'can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples,' after Israel's defence minister authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists. Israel's plan 'will drag the region into a permanent war,' the French president posted on social media, reiterating his call for an 'international stabilisation mission'. 3.36pm CEST 15:36 International aid groups say they have not yet been able to deliver shelter materials to Gaza despite Israeli authorities saying they have lifted restrictions on such supplies, and warn that further delays could cause more Palestinian deaths. Aid organisations say Israel had in effect been blocking the delivery of materials for shelters for nearly six months, with tent poles previously listed among items Israeli authorities considered could have a military as well as civilian use. With international concern over the plight of Palestinians mounting as the war in Gaza continues, Israel announced measures last month to let more aid into Gaza and said on Saturday that it would start allowing shelter materials in from the next day. But officials from five aid groups, including UN agencies, told Reuters that shelter materials needed by large numbers of displaced Palestinians were still not reaching Gaza and blamed Israeli bureaucratic hurdles. 'The United Nations and our partners been able to bring in shelter materials following the Israeli announcement,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesperson Jens Laerke said. 3.02pm CEST 15:02 On the ground in Gaza City on Wednesday, Mustafa Qazzaat, head of the emergency committee in the Gaza municipality, described the situation as 'catastrophic' as Israel's defence minister approved a plan on Wednesday for the conquest of Gaza City. He told AFP that 'large numbers' of people were fleeing their neighbourhoods, with the majority of those displaced 'on the roads and streets without shelter.' Aida Abu Madi, a 48-year-old resident of Zeitoun, said she fled on Wednesday with her husband, children and three grandchildren to the home of relatives in western Gaza City. 'I didn't hear about Israel's decision, but I saw my neighbours fleeing, so I fled too,' she told AFP by telephone. Anis Daloul, 64, said he fled Zeitoun with his family on Sunday for a neighbourhood northwest of Gaza City. 2.34pm CEST 14:34 Jordan's foreign minister said Wednesday that Israel's assault on Gaza had caused 'massacres and starvation' and that its wider actions were 'killing all prospects' for peace in the Middle East. His comments came after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz approved a plan to conquer Gaza City, an urban area home to hundreds of thousands of people in the north of the Palestinian territory. Most of the territory's population has been displaced since the war began, many repeatedly, according to the United Nations. Addressing Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at a meeting in Moscow, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said he hoped to discuss 'efforts to end the aggression on Gaza, and the massacres and starvation that it is creating.' 2.12pm CEST 14:12 A fire broke out near Iran's Tabriz airport on Wednesday, with heavy smoke hanging in the city's sky, Iran's Fars news agency reported, adding operations to control the fire are ongoing. 1.52pm CEST 13:52 Iran 'cannot completely cut cooperation' with the UN nuclear watchdog but the return of its inspectors is up to the country's security chiefs, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday. The remarks come nearly two months after Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency following its 12-day war with Israel in June. Iran has cited the IAEA's failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities as the reason for its decision, which saw the watchdog's inspectors leave the country following the passing of new legislation by parliament. 'We cannot completely cut cooperation with the agency,' Araghchi said, noting that new fuel rods need to be installed at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in the coming weeks which will require the presence of IAEA inspectors. 'Under the law passed by parliament, the return of inspectors will be possible through a decision of the Supreme National Security Council,' he told the official IRNA news agency in an interview published Wednesday, referring to Iran's top security body. 1.33pm CEST 13:33 The mayor of the nearby Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, Guy Yifrach, confirmed that Israel has approved a major settlement project on Wednesday in an area of the occupied West Bank that the international community has warned threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state. 'I am pleased to announce that just a short while ago, the civil administration approved the planning for the construction of the E1 neighbourhood,' Yifrach, said in a statement. 1.24pm CEST 13:24 Israel gave final approval on Wednesday for a controversial settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, and that Palestinians and rights groups say could destroy hopes for a future Palestinian state. Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, cast the approval as a rebuke to western countries that announced their plans to recognize a Palestinian state in recent weeks. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,' he said on Wednesday. 'Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.' Updated at 1.27pm CEST 1.22pm CEST 13:22 Good afternoon, Israel will call up around 60,000 reservists before a planned offensive to take Gaza City but most forces that would operate in the Gaza Strip's largest urban centre would be active duty soldiers, an Israeli military official said on Wednesday. The call-up notices could be sent in the coming days, with reservists to report for duty in September, the military official said. 'Most of the troops that will be mobilised in this new stage will be active duty and not reservists,' said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. It comes as Israel is studying Hamas' response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, two Israeli officials said on Tuesday, although one source reiterated that all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end. Elsewhere: Prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday that he treats leaders of other countries with respect after his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu attacked him over his decision to recognise a Palestinian state. 'I don't take these things personally, I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders,' Albanese said during a media briefing. A 58% majority of Americans believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, as Israel and Hamas considered a possible truce in the nearly two-year-long war. 33% of respondents did not agree that UN members should recognise a Palestinian state and 9% did not answer. German prosecutors have charged a Russian national they suspect of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin and of trying to join militant organisation Islamic State, they said on Wednesday. Prosecutors believe the accused, identified only as Akhmad E. in line with German privacy rules, obtained instructions from the Internet on how to make explosives but the plan failed as he could not get the components he needed. Updated at 1.50pm CEST
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Why is Putin so scared of Zelensky? How summit with hero who Vlad dismissed as ‘Nazi comic' will expose tyrant's FAILURE
VLADIMIR Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have only met in person once before. The next time they set eyes on each other, it could expose the Russian tyrant as a fraud and a failure before the eyes of his people. 5 5 When they first met, Zelensky was the freshly elected President of Ukraine, who soared to office with a landslide win - despite having no political experience. His past career was as an actor and comedian - rising to international fame with his role as an accidental president in the Ukrainian show Servant of the People. The contrast with the stony-faced macho image cultivated by Vladimir Putin could not have been more stark as they say down in 2019 for a summit in France. The pair did not shake hands at the tense, fruitless meeting. Within three years, their two countries would be locked in Europe's bloodiest war since 1945. Putin forced to 'accept failure' Donald Trump's renewed drive to bring the war to a close could bring a once unthinkable second meeting between Zelensky and Putin to reality. However, in the days since Trump's separate meetings with the two leaders, Moscow has been quick to pour cold water on the prospect. Zelensky, whose first language is Russian and performed in Moscow during Putin's rise to power, has said he is "ready" for a meeting with Vlad. But the very act of meeting with Zelensky could undermine Putin and the entire rationale for his war in the eyes of Russia. Orysia Lutsevich, director of Chatham House's Russia and Eurasia program, told CNN that Putin "will have to accept the failure of sitting down with a President he considers a joke from a country that doesn't exist". Undermines Russia's war aims When the Russian despot ordered tanks to assault Kyiv in February 2022, his warped justification was based on claims that Ukraine was a fake country run by Nazis. Zelensky's Jewish identity makes the claim patently absurd, but for Putin to sit down with him would be a tacit admission of how ludicrous the claim was. For Vlad to meet Volod for talks, they would be sat there as two Presidents of legitimate, sovereign nations - something that the Kremlin's narrative could not possibly abide. And so long as Ukraine remains armed and sovereign, concession to Zelensky would prove Putin's war goals a failure. Russia has shown little indication of making major concessions so far, with the handover of vast swathes of Ukrainian territory to Moscow still Putin's core condition for peace. But to avoid Trump's wrath if talks fall through, Putin will want to shift the blame to Zelensky. Loggerheads over location His suggestion that the trilateral summit be held in Moscow - a predictably unacceptable proposal for Ukraine - could have been a calculated move to weasel out. And had the meeting been held in Russia's capital against the odds, Putin would have hailed it as a diplomatic coup for the Kremlin - and a chance to humiliate Ukraine's war leader. But Vlad's surrogates have taken to the airwaves to dampen expectations around a summit. Russia' Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said a meeting would have to be prepared "gradually... starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps". Lavrov added today that not involving Russia in discussions around Ukraine's security guarantees is a "road to nowhere". Disputes around the proposed location for the summit have also presented headaches for diplomats. While a Moscow meeting between the pair remains unlikely, other venues have also proved controversial. Suggestions for it to be held in Budapest were lambasted by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He said: "Not everyone may remember this, but in 1994 Ukraine already got assurances of territorial integrity from the US, Russia and the UK. "In Budapest. Maybe I'm superstitious, but this time I would try to find another place." Switzerland, Qatar and Austria have been floated as other prospective venues. But Putin will be wary of a European location - where most states would be obliged to arrest him under an ICC warrant. 5 5
