Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a number of points to make. First, in respect of the condemnation, I believe it is supported by all parties in this House. The next question is, what comes next? People are talking about the need to punish Russia and the Tánaiste is contemplating possible sanctions in that regard. Will there be agreement right across the European Union on such sanctions? Will it come to that? While one is working off scraps of information being picked up here and there, it appears as though there are extremists on both sides, that is, both pro-Russian and pro-European. One party, which I believe is called Svoboda, was involved in the activities on the square, in the pro-European Union calls and so on. However, its leader, who supported the pro-European Union protests, has called for the elimination of political and democratic pluralism in Ukraine, for ethnic cleansing of the entire country and for the restoration of the status of Ukraine as a nuclear power. In addition, I have heard no one discussing the anti-Semitic attacks. The rabbi of Kiev has suggested that people from a Jewish background should leave Kiev because of what is happening on the ground there but no one appears to be expressing concern in this regard.
Everyone accepts that Crimea always has been of strategic importance and I do not believe the Russians will ever pull out of Crimea. I note other countries have invaded countries that are thousands of miles from their own country while stating it is in their own backyard and similarly, the Russians view Crimea as their backyard. We got ourselves into a zero-sum situation, that is, Ukrainians could either go with the European Union or with the Russians. There did not appear to be any sort of in-between point in that regard. Does the Tánaiste now accept that on reflection, this was the wrong position into which to try to push the Ukrainians? Does the Tánaiste accept that people need to pull back from this and there must be discussions with the Russians on how this situation will be resolved? Is the Tánaiste worried about the potential of young men, regardless of whether they are Russian, pro-Russian or pro-western and how it only requires a few shots to be fired and a couple more people to be killed and one will have a conflagration in the entire region? My major concern is this is what will happen.
Was the issue of anti-Semitism discussed at the emergency meeting? Will it form part of the focus in respect of the present difficulties? What was the majority view on the meeting? While the Tánaiste is talking about possible sanctions and so on, realistically, can countries that have huge ties with the Russian economy survive the imposition of sanctions regarding oil, gas or trade? I do not believe it would be so simple and I seek answers in this regard because I do not know what is the best solution. The statement issued in this regard stated:

The EU is ready to further pursue its efforts with the international community and international financial institutions, especially the IMF, to assist Ukraine. To this end, the EU and its Member States will lend their full support to an international assistance package to address the urgent needs of Ukraine.

I seek confirmation from the Tánaiste on any aid or financial support given to Ukraine. As the Russians have offered a similar package, is it possible that the European Union and the Russians could come together and come up with some form of solution? I refer to the bartering agreements and the €13 billion the Russians had proposed to wipe off the debt and so on.
Is the Tánaiste concerned about the other countries in the region, some of which are within the European Union, that have significant Russian populations? Is the Tánaiste worried this contagion could spread to other countries? Is he concerned there will be similar protests in those countries that have huge Russian populations? Difficulties exist in many of those countries, in that if one is Russian or Russian-speaking, one is more likely to be unemployed or to be poorer than one's Ukrainian counterpart and this pattern also extends to some of the European Union member states. Difficulties exist on how they are being treated, which in itself creates conflict.
I will turn to some of the other issues mentioned by the Tánaiste. On the Palestinian situation, the Tánaiste spoke of the discussions with the Israelis. In a major development in 2013, the British and Dutch Governments recently provided advice to their private sectors, warning them of the risks of having commercial investment links with the Israeli settlements. Does the Tánaiste intend to provide similar advice to Irish companies?

It came up when we had representatives from Trócaire here last week. The head of Trócaire could not understand why similar advice had not been issued concerning Irish businesses.

Given the Tánaiste's support for an EU-wide ban on settlement products, will he be using the forthcoming Foreign Affairs Council meeting to push for Council conclusions on this matter?

Does the Tánaiste believe that the Geneva-2 talks on Syria have progressed anything? Can those talks be built upon?

The Tánaiste also referred to Libya, so what plans does the EU have to support the development of democracy, peace and commerce there? On Sunday last, the Libyan Parliament was stormed by armed rioters who set fire to the grounds and looted furniture, as well as wounding a prominent lawmaker. The situation seems to be getting worse there.

I am glad the Tánaiste pointed out the positive developments that have happened in Tunisia and Yemen.

I have raised the question of Afghanistan with the Tánaiste previously. The poppy-field acreage has quadrupled there in the last three years, but was this matter discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council? Are there any talks on working with other countries in the region to prevent the heroin by-product arriving in Europe, including in this country?