Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What we are now witnessing in Gaza is a brutal and utterly futile conflict. Ultimately, both sides will have to talk to each other and engage in negotiations of some kind to address the underlying issues. The world has been rightly appalled by the violence we have seen and the intransigence both sides have shown towards the repeated entreaties - most recently and tellingly, by all 15 members of the UN Security Council - to end the violence and declare an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire. I fear, in particular, for the damage its continued military operations against innocent civilians is doing to Israel's international reputation and the credibility of its repeated commitment to wish to negotiate a just peace with its Palestinian neighbours.

As I stated earlier, this is not the first crisis in Gaza, but we must earnestly hope it is the last. We must hope the underlying issues contributing to such widespread violence and appalling suffering, including, in particular, the long-running blockade of Gaza, and the faltering peace process are now addressed and advanced in a decisive manner. I assure the House that this immediate crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue to receive my highest priority as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. This morning I had the opportunity of speaking again to the Egyptian Foreign Minister. I will continue to work vigorously to bring about the earliest possible ceasefire and address the humanitarian crisis in the region. I also will continue to condemn strongly all violence and all civilian casualties.

I turn now to the other major crisis being addressed by the House today, namely, the situation in Ukraine. What we have witnessed in eastern Ukraine in the past number of months represents the most serious crisis in Europe in recent years. I deplore the violence and bloodshed we have witnessed and, in particular, the suffering that is being wreaked upon innocent civilians.

As Members of this House will be aware, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report this week that estimates that since April more than 1,100 people have been killed in the conflict and more than 3,400 injured. It also states that over 100,000 internally displaced persons have been forced to flee the violence in the area. This is totally unacceptable in 21st century Europe.

An early resolution of the crisis, based on a peaceful, inclusive and negotiated settlement, is an urgent priority for the entire international community. The concerns of the Irish Government have been widely reflected by the Irish public. Indeed, this country was directly touched by the tragedy when an Irish-born citizen lost her life in the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July, allegedly by a surface-to-air missile.

Last week in Brussels I had the opportunity to convey the Government's condolences and the sympathies of the Irish people to my Dutch counterpart, Mr. Frans Timmermans, on the tragic loss of so many of his fellow citizens. I take this opportunity to convey my deepest condolences to the people and the governments of all affected countries and, in particular, to the families of the innocent victims. Throughout every phase of this crisis we have worked closely with our partners in the European Union and internationally through the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, to address these issues as effectively as possible. All EU member states are united in the view that what has happened in Ukraine is completely unacceptable and that it will have serious consequences for our relations with Russia.

From the outset, the EU has played an active role in trying to facilitate a resolution to the crisis in Ukraine. On 6 March EU Heads of State and Government decided on a three-phase approach to restrictive measures against Russia in view of its actions in respect of Ukraine. Until now the EU has limited itself to the first two phases - essentially involving the suspension of some negotiations with Russia and a series of asset freezes and visa bans on named individuals. I very much regret that this has been necessary but, despite our repeated calls, Russia has failed to use its influence on the separatists to have them end the violence and lay down their weapons. Instead there has been a continued flow of militants and material over the Russian-Ukrainian border. Indeed, rather than de-escalating, the situation has worsened and there are credible reports that Russia is once again massing troops on the border. This is a deeply destabilising move in an already highly volatile atmosphere.

Vital opportunities, including the terms of President Poroshenko's peace plan and the unilateral ceasefire that accompanied it, have not been taken up in any serious manner. The European Council took stock of the situation on 16 July and agreed to further expand the restrictive measures with a view to targeting entities, including entities from the Russian Federation, that support actions undermining or threatening Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. On 22 July I attended my first meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council where we engaged in a lengthy discussion on the situation in Ukraine. The tragic loss of the Malaysian Airlines aircraft on 17 July, with the loss of 298 innocent lives, was obviously uppermost in our minds. Together with my EU partners, I called on the separatist groups to ensure full immediate, safe and secure access to the site and surrounding area. We emphasised the need for a viable security corridor to proceed with victim identification, recover the remains and possessions of victims and to aid the professional and dignified repatriation of those remains. I have publicly called for a full investigation and expressed the Government's support for UN Security Council Resolution 2166, which Ireland co-sponsored in New York earlier this month.

Those directly or indirectly responsible for bringing down the plane must be held accountable and brought to justice and I am sure that everyone in this House will join me in insisting on this level of accountability. The difficulty that international investigators have experienced in gaining access to the crash site is scandalous and an affront to the grieving relatives of those who perished. I know that the Prime Minister of the Netherlands has also asked President Poroshenko to do everything possible to bring about a sustainable cessation of hostilities that will allow the important and necessary humanitarian work to proceed and I fully endorse that call.

Against this background, my fellow EU foreign ministers and I agreed last week on a further expansion of restrictive measures targeting individuals supporting or benefitting from Russian decision makers responsible for the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine.

We also agreed to accelerate the preparation of sectoral sanctions which would impact on Russia's access to capital markets, arms supplies, dual use goods and sensitive technology, including in the energy sector. For my part, I stressed in Brussels that Russia must demonstrate by "deeds instead of words" that it is committed to resolving the crisis. I also indicated that the EU must take strong action on sanctions if it is to remain credible and that it must remain united.