Martin: Sinn Féin is soft on Russia
Taoiseach in blistering attack on Sinn Féin and ‘the hard left’ for ‘looking to blame Nato’ for Putin invasion
TAOISEACH Micheál Martin yesterday hit out at Sinn Féin’s failure to condemn Russian aggression in the past, saying the party is more likely to criticise Nato and the European Union than Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Speaking in London ahead of a bilateral meeting with British prime minister Boris Johnson, Mr Martin said Sinn Féin’s response to Russia’s behaviour before the invasion of Ukraine ‘has been muted to say the least’.
Mr Martin also accused Sinn Féin and ‘the hard left’ of seeking to blame Nato for the current crisis as much as Russia.
‘There has been a tendency of both Sinn Féin and the hard left to blame Nato all of the time and to blame the West as being responsible [for Russian aggression],’ he said.
‘Morally this equivalence just doesn’t stack up’
‘Morally it just doesn’t stack up, this equivalence between the US and Russia. It just doesn’t stack up.
‘We had some of this in the debates in the last few weeks. Some deputies are attacking Europe all of the time.
‘If you look at the contribution of some deputies, they are attacking the European Union as if it was responsible.’
The Taoiseach said Nato leaders ‘did everything they could to stop war’.
He added: ‘French president Macron spoke on many, many occasions to Vladimir Putin to stop war and so did the German chancellor Olaf Scholz and so did many others.’
Mr Martin’s comments followed earlier criticisms he made of Sinn Féin’s foreign policies when he accused the party of being anti-Europe.
During a briefing with reporters over Christmas, the Taoiseach also questioned why Sinn Féin refused to condemn Russian aggression.
In a hard-hitting attack, Mr Martin also said Sinn Féin ‘would fatally undermine, with their current policies, the enterprise base of this country.’
And he said he believed Sinn Féin, if voted into power, would change Ireland’s foreign policy direction.
Mr Martin told the Irish Mail on Sunday at the time:
‘The other aspect of it that worries me a bit is their international, European policy. I think at heart, they’re still an anti-EU party.’
The day after Russia invaded Ukraine, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald called for ‘significantly strengthened sanctions’ against Vladimir Putin’s regime and for the Russian ambassador to be expelled from Ireland.
This came two days after Mr Martin criticised Ms McDonald for saying during the Dáil’s Order of Business that ‘the world is looking on with increasing anxiety at the behaviour of Russia’.
Mr Martin retorted: ‘I do not think it is enough to say that there is growing anxiety about the aggressive position of Russia. I think we should all be clear in this House that we all condemn the Russian aggression. We should use that language clearly and without equivocation.’
And when Sinn Féin’s finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, raised
the issue on Thursday, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was caustic in his reply.
‘I particularly welcome the support of Deputy Pearse Doherty’s party on this matter,’ Mr Varadkar said.
‘I remember when I was Taoiseach in 2018 when Russians murdered somebody in England, the deputy’s party leader, Deputy McDonald, being very critical of us for expelling a Russian diplomat at the time. Deputy McDonald said it was a violation of our neutrality for us to expel a Russian diplomat,’ he added.
‘I think at heart they’re still an anti-EU party’
have to hide in underground shelters.
Mariia’s father Maksym is a reserve in the army and rings his wife and child every day but has not been called to arms yet.
Nadiya said they find it very difficult to sleep at night knowing the horror that is unfolding in their homeland.
‘I know we are thousands of miles away but knowing that this is going on at home is very unsettling. We don’t really sleep at night while all this is going on.’
But she added: ‘What has happened has united Ukrainians. Our parents are on the ground helping and they said they have not seen people so united in 65 years.
‘Speaking on behalf of my country, we’re going to win this fight because it’s in our spirit to fight to the last and defend ourselves. We are fighting for our land, our freedom and democracy.
‘I hope when all this is over, everyone who is guilty of these crimes will be held accountable and be punished. We can’t let one man destroy the whole world.’