Vice Chairman (Deputy Bernard J. Durkan):

Apologies have been received from Deputy Pat Breen and Senator Jim Walsh. The draft minutes of our meetings with the Tánaiste on 4 March and the ambassador of Ukraine on 5 March have been circulated. Are they agreed to? Agreed. I ask all members and visitors to turn off their mobile phones to avoid interference with the recording system.

The main item on our agenda is a discussion of the current situation in Ukraine with His Excellency Maxim Peshkov, ambassador of the Russian Federation to Ireland. I welcome the ambassador and his colleagues. There have been a number of significant developments in Ukraine recently, none more so than the events in Crimea in the past week. The joint committee heard from the Ukrainian ambassador last Wednesday when the Embassy of the Russian Federation was represented in the Visitors Gallery. Today, in a continuation of our hearings on the issue, we have the pleasure of the company of the Russian ambassador and his colleagues. They are very welcome and we look forward to hearing what they have to say to the committee.