Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his detailed statement. He correctly stated that Russia is completely disregarding its international obligations and international laws are being blatantly violated. Media coverage suggests there are currently 16,000 pro-Russian troops in control of the Crimean region's security and administration infrastructure. President Putin stated that the Russian-speaking soldiers occupying those key military sites were Russian special forces. Has it been established that Russian military forces have taken control of key targets in the Crimean territory and have these reports been independently verified?

With regard to energy supply, I think it was in January 2006 that the gas supply tap to Ukraine was turned off by Gazprom in Russia following the hike in the price. Members will recall that created serious difficulties for Europe as gas prices rocketed. Has the issue of continuity of supply or a price increase and the consequences of that for the European Union been considered or is there a fall-back position in place for the European community in general?

The German Foreign Minister was quoted today as stating that "he expected EU leaders to take concrete steps to punish Russia unless it shows a readiness in the next day and a half to work towards a diplomatic solution in Ukraine". I welcome the fact that the European Council is meeting on Thursday. Could the Tánaiste outline what a diplomatic solution in the Ukraine might look like at this point? I welcome the fact that he stated that the proposed association agreement is still in play and is still available to Ukraine.

The Tánaiste stated that with regard to Georgia and Moldova, "Ireland and a number of EU Member States have said that these agreements should be signed and provisionally applied as soon as possible". Is that a view of a number of member states or the view of the full Foreign Affairs Council?

With regard to Syria, there was a pledging conference of humanitarian aid some time ago and I know the initial reports were very disappointing in regard to the humanitarian aid and the funding pledged by the international community. Has that improved anything in the meantime since the conclusion of that conference because we are all still very conscious of the huge suffering of many millions of people in that general region?

The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, continues his valuable efforts in regard to the Middle East. The Tánaiste stated that the current scheduled end day of 30 April has been extended. Is there a timeframe in place for the extension of the 30 April deadline or is there any indication in that respect?

In terms of the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting, in respect of the very draconian laws - anti-gay laws in violation of human rights for gay and lesbian people - that were signed by the Ugandan President last week, is it proposed there will be a message from the European Union to the Ugandan President and Government that this is a gross violation of human rights?