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Vladimir Putin is coming to Budapest. At least, that is what the invitation says.
After a lengthy phone call with Donald Trump on Thursday, the leaders of the United States and Russia tentatively agreed to meet in the EU and NATO capital sometime in the near future to discuss a possible end to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Whether that tête-à-tête happens is still unclear, but the news itself sent shockwaves across capitals, as the trip could mark Putin's first intrusion into the European Union's territory since early 2020 and further undercut the Western effort to isolate him.
But beyond the geopolitics driving the initiative, and the complex logistics that go into setting up a summit of this magnitude and consequence, one basic question emerges: Can Putin actually enter the European Union?
There are at least two different dimensions to consider.
The EU sanctions
Immediately after Russian troops broke through Ukraine's borders and marched to Kyiv, the EU rushed to apply a variety of sanctions to weaken the Kremlin's war machine.
Among the plethora of decisions, member states sanctioned hundreds of high-level Russian officials responsible for planning and overseeing the
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