We were right to stand up for UK by expelling Russian diplomat
THE decision by the Government to expel a Russian diplomat, albeit a day after most of our EU colleagues did likewise, came as no surprise. Given the fact that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar apparently led the charge on the issue of retaliation against Russia over the Salisbury affair at a recent meeting of EU leaders, it was always on the cards that such action would be taken.
There have been a number of voices raised in opposition to this move. It has been suggested that this decision was taken solely based on the advice of foreign security services. It has been criticised because Russia has not carried out, at least openly, illegal action here in this State. It is also being suggested our policy of neutrality has been compromised.
In my opinion, given the way in which our relationship with other states is so interconnected, such a course of action was inevitable. As a member of the EU, we could not stand by while one of our fellow members (at least for the time being) was being subjected to an aggressive attack.
Indeed, I would hazard a guess that the fact that Theresa May’s government got such support from the EU has something to do with the desire on the part of many within the bloc to show just how much solidarity and support, potentially, the UK will lose when it departs. Equally, leaving aside the EU angle, it would be inconceivable that we would not stand shoulder to shoulder with our next-door neighbour.
WE ARE inextricably linked, to our mutual benefit, with the UK, Brexit or no Brexit. The fact that so many countries are involved in the Russian diplomat withdrawal action would suggest to me that there is more than a grain of truth in the allegations about Salisbury. Calls for our security services to be more specific about the reasons for the recommended action are somewhat naive in that the type of espionage involved is very much carried out under the radar, as is the gathering and sharing of intelligence across like-minded states.
The events in Salisbury have brought many states together in a show of solidarity in a fashion previously not seen for much more serious infractions by the Kremlin government.
The invasion of Georgia and Crimea are cases in point where Russia’s actions have gone largely unchecked. Equally, the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko was closely traced to Russian involvement, and yet subsequent international action was relatively ineffectual.
In recent years, there has been strong evidence, right across the world, that Russian cyber attackers have endeavoured to change the course of elections around the world.
Given the nature of these type of attacks, it is very difficult to pinpoint blame, but there is a strong suspicion amongst Western powers that these attacks are being orchestrated by services close to the Kremlin.
This country is particularly exposed to this new type of attack, and needs to be particularly vigilant in this respect. And we need to be extremely careful that we are not used as a stepping stone for physical or cyber attacks on our nearest neighbour.
While dozens of Russian diplomats have been expelled, followed by a tit-for-tat action from the Russians, these moves are merely token. Vladimir Putin and his government will not be too worried about a few officials being sent home.
Indeed, if anything, these actions by Western countries have tended to strengthen Putin’s electoral position, as illustrated by his recent overwhelming re-election.
A number of leading opponents of Russia can be accused of speaking with forked tongues. Donald Trump, against advice of his officials, rushed to congratulate Putin on his re-election recently. He did this probably knowing that, shortly after that, he would have to back the UK and others by expelling many Russian officials from the US.
Equally, while UK politicians, especially in the run-up to the Brexit vote, have decried the influx of foreigners to their shores, they seem to have turned a blind eye to the fact that some very dubious business people from Russia, have made London their home. Indeed, it has been suggested that our own financial services sector has been used by shady Russian figures to bury their illgotten gains.
IF WE and others really wanted to take tough action against the Russians, it should be in the area where it would hurt the most – their pockets. Legislation restricting their ability to channel money through European states has often been suggested, but rarely implemented.
While the Government emphasised that this decision was taken as a show of solidarity with the UK, it also stressed that the move was also based on ‘a high level of security assessment’ made by our own security services, including the Defence Forces. Some commentators have questioned why action was not taken earlier, if it was the case that there was unease surrounding Russian activities here in the Republic.
While this may seem a legitimate question, it may very well be that the events in Salisbury have merely confirmed suspicions which our own security services have had, over the last while, about nefarious activities by Russian personnel here in this State.
Between 2004 and 2011, I was Minister for Foreign Affairs, and subsequently for Justice. I can say that, during that time, while, outwardly, relationships between our two countries were workmanlike, there were serious suspicions, on our side that some Russian officials were present in Ireland for reasons other than normal diplomacy.
It has been long suspected that the reason for this is because of the strong presence of foreign direct investment here from the US.
It is the case that the number of personnel in the Russian embassy in Ireland is way out of proportion for a country of our size.
It is a fact that in late 2010/early 2011, it was discovered that the Russian intelligence service had been involved in the manufacture and use of false documents based on the acquisition of six genuine passports belonging to Irish citizens.
This came to light because a number of Russian individuals were found guilty of spying in the US while using falsified Irish passports. At the time, the Government expelled one of the Russian embassy’s staff from this country.
Over the years, our security services have kept a very close eye on the activities of Russian individuals based in Ireland.
It has been suspected that a number of people from Russia have lived here as ‘sleepers’ – in other words, blending into everyday life as a normal citizen, but, at the same time, sending information back home to Russia which would be of benefit to their interests.
Based on my own experience in this area, I have no doubt that our Government has strong and legitimate reasons for taking part in coordinated action against Russia, following on from the appalling Salisbury attack.