Irish politicians slam government's decision to expel Russian diplomat

RT
Tue, 27 Mar 2018 20:46 UTC

Ireland's government is facing pushback for its decision to follow the lead of the UK, the US and other European countries and expel a Russian diplomat from the country.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney released a statement on Tuesday, confirming that Dublin would stand in "unqualified solidarity" with the UK, which has accused the Russian government of being responsible for the chemical attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.

The decision has sparked controversy in Ireland, with a number of political and media figures making their disagreement with the government clear.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald spoke against the decision in the Irish Parliament after the announcement was made. "Essentially you're asking us to trust Boris Johnson and dare I say this is not the wisest course of action," McDonald said to Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

Some high-profile figures pointed out the hypocrisy of Ireland expelling a Russian diplomat when the country did not expel British diplomats for their government's highly-likely involvement in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which killed 34 people in 1974.

Irish MEP Matt McCarthy tweeted that the government's decision was "senseless and embarrassing," given that the British government has "actually murdered Irish citizens" and refuses to provide information on the 1974 bombings.

Others said that since Ireland is supposed to be a neutral and non-aligned country, the government should have waited for evidence before condemning Russia for Skripal's poisoning.

Some suggested that if the Irish government wanted to expel Russian diplomats, it should stop allowing the US military to carry weapons and troops through Shannon Airport in County Clare.

Russia's ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov called the Irish government's decision "totally unwarranted" and "uncalled for."

Comment: While Ireland's government went ahead with expelling a Russian diplomat based only on the worthless word of people like May and Johnson and without the support of their constituents, other EU nations have opted for a saner approach:

On Tuesday, Switzerland noted that it would wait for the results of the investigation before taking any action. Its Foreign Ministry said that the country "supports mechanisms and institutions that can independently clarify facts and security evidence."

Austria, an EU member, said it would not be taking any "national measures," while noting its desire to "keep the channels of communication to Russia open."

Cyprus also declined to expel any Russian diplomats without any further evidence. "Our country is not in a position to take measures against countries that are permanent members of the UN Security Council," government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou told Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Monday, as quoted by the Independent Balkan News Agency (IBNA).

Slovakia was not eager to jump the gun either. "The development of the situation, as well as Russia's response to the calls addressed to it by the EU countries -- including Slovakia -- will influence the next steps that we are prepared to consider in this case," the Slovakian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. However, the country said it was summoning the Russian ambassador "without delay."

Last week, ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May at a European Council summit dinner in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stressed the need for an investigation into the Skripal case before jumping to conclusions. "We have to express our solidarity to the UK, to the British people, but at the same time we need to investigate," he said.

Other EU nations, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia, have also declined to join the expulsion frenzy.

Reader Comments

HashAttack2 · 2018-03-28T22:24:17Z

Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974, in which 33 people were murdered

Not something that I can recall .... add it to the list of things worst than "Skripal incident" since 1945

Wiki

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of co-ordinated bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland. Three bombs exploded in Dublin during rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost ninety minutes later. They killed 33 civilians and a full-term unborn child, and injured almost 300. The bombings were the deadliest attack of the conflict known as the Troubles, and the deadliest attack in the Republic's history. Most of the victims were young women, although the ages of the dead ranged from five months to 80 years.