People are wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin could be arrested if he sets foot on US soil, ahead of Friday's Alaska meeting with Donald Trump.

While the "loophole" essentially protects Putin from being cuffed during his U.S. trip, de Bretton-Gordon noted the Kremlin will likely still be on high-alert and won't be taking any chances of their leader being thrown behind bars.

In August 2025, as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to meet in Alaska to discuss the war in Ukraine, speculation swirled online about whether Trump could or should arrest the Russian president at the meeting on a warrant from the International Criminal Court that accused Putin of carrying out war crimes.