Government mulls embassy expulsion
THE Government is ‘seriously considering’ expelling the Russian ambassador to Ireland and up to 20 embassy staff, senior Coalition sources told the Irish Mail on Sunday last night.
As fighting continued in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities yesterday, the Government’s mood hardened amid opposition calls to expel ambassador Yury Filatov and his diplomats from Dublin.
A senior Government source told the MoS: ‘There is very significant talk of expelling the ambassador. The mood now is that this escalation is something that cannot go unchecked.’
Government sources said the plan is that ‘the EU will act as one on such issues’. A source told the MoS: ‘The decision not to expel yet is because of the need to keep diplomatic channels open. EU countries will not act unilaterally.’
A senior diplomatic source added: ‘Diplomatic expulsions are very much on the table across the EU. But the calculation now is that it’s better to have a line of communication for the humanitarian situation. Without a shadow of a doubt they will close any embassy in Moscow who expels their envoys.’
The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Charlie Flanagan, ramped up the rhetoric yesterday when he said the ambassador had ‘lied through his teeth’. He also told Newstalk the expulsion would be a ‘display of the revulsion of the Irish people towards Russia’.
Asked earlier about his possible expulsion, Mr Filatov told RTÉ it is a matter for the Government and that he ‘can leave any time’.
His comments came after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the expulsion could not be ruled out.
‘The only thing that is protecting the ambassador from a unilateral expulsion is that ultimately you need someone to talk to.’
Another source said: ‘There are many links between Ireland and the Ukraine. There is the obvious – surrogacy and the Chernobyl children – but a huge number of Ukrainians are working here.’