The quote circulating online is fabricated and first appeared on a pro-Russian satirical channel. Kallas did indeed call the possibility of Putin’s arrival in a European country unpleasant in the context of the fact that an arrest warrant for the Russian president issued by the International Criminal Court is in effect.
Even before it became known that Washington had canceled preparations for a meeting with Putin in Budapest, the Russian-speaking segment of the network began to spread a quote allegedly by the head of European diplomacy, Kaia Kallas: «This person (Putin – ed. note), if he wants to come to Europe, must see our attitude. No red carpets. We must turn Budapest into the worst place in the world. Garbage everywhere, homeless people everywhere, devastation everywhere. That’s what he must see. It’s very sad, but we have to do it», the Vice President of the European Commission allegedly said.
In fact, the quote that spread online is made up. Its original source is the pro-Russian Telegram channel «here’s my Yandex wallet». Its bio states: «parody and satire on political reality. Verified fakes only». Of course, most users don’t pay attention to the disclaimer and spread pro-Kremlin fantasies without specifying that it’s a joke. We have repeatedly refuted fakes spread from this exact channel — for example, in the materials Fake: Ivanka Trump Considers Ukrainians Disgusting and Vile People, Fake: In Kyiv, People Welcomed Blogger Who Walked The Streets Dressed as Hitler, Fake: Kyiv Tattoo Studio Offers Free Tattoo Removal With US Symbols and Fake: Russia Has Lured Ukraine into a Trap of Trusting US, – Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister.
At the same time, Kaia Kallas really reacted to the possibility of a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Budapest. «Regarding Budapest, no, it is not nice. To see that really a person, with an arrest warrant put by the ICC, is coming to a European country», — Kallas said on October 20 before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. At the same time, the vice president noted that while the US should use all possible leverage to force Russia to the negotiating table, the question is whether such a meeting can bring any results. Kallas also stressed that it is important that the president of Ukraine be present at such meetings.
Many European ministers have also been skeptical of the idea. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budris said that Vladimir Putin has no place in Europe except in the Hague tribunal. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen agreed, calling Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Volodymyr Zelensky also noted that Budapest is «not the best choice» for the meeting venue, given the political and historical context, but said that he did not care where the meeting would take place if it brought peace closer. The Ukrainian president has expressed his willingness to join the meeting in a trilateral format or to come to the summit even if Putin does not agree to a direct conversation. However, Donald Trump’s office told Reuters that the US president decided to cancel the meeting in Budapest due to Putin’s refusal to cease fire and called the summit «a waste of time». So it is currently unknown when, in what format and whether the meeting of the presidents will take place at all and whether Washington will return to choosing Budapest as a potential venue for the meeting.
Read another refutation of Russian disinformation on the topic of international diplomacy in the article Fake: Russia Never Violated the Conditions of the Olympic Truce.
