Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

We must be honest here. The only reason we are discussing this issue in the House is that a number of Deputies on the Independent benches refused to sign what the Government had hoped would be a cross-party motion. We objected and tabled an amendment because of the absolutely unprecedented partisan and one-sided nature of the motion proposed by the Government. We object to the Government's total failure to recognise that the recent conflict and instability in Ukraine owes its origins, in large part, to the external struggle to dominate that country. That is not just being fought by the Russians, but also by the US and the EU. The Minister of State said this morning that the EU's actions were taken in good faith but there has been a conscious strategy on the part of the EU and the US to openly sponsor the protest movement against Yanukovych and to pump in billions to destabilise the area not because Yanukovych was corrupt - which he undoubtedly was - but to further the economic interests of the US and the EU. The replacement for Yanukovych is even more corrupt. The pushing of the all-or-nothing EU agreement, which would have excluded any economic association with Russia, was a contributing factor in the conflict.

It is incredibly ironic that the Government's motion makes no mention of the role of NATO, which has been key in this situation. Contrary to the claims of the US and its allies, NATO has been relentlessly expanding up to the Russian border, taking in many former countries of the Warsaw Pact and the former USSR. In effect, what is happening is the build up of an anti-Russian military alliance across Europe and little wonder that the Russians are worried. The Guardian described it as a desire of the Pentagon to have the US navy replace the Russian Black Sea fleet in Crimean ports. The majority of people in Ukraine are against NATO membership but the oligarchs have a different view. Yanukovych actually indicated that he was also against it.

The paw prints of NATO have not been mentioned in the Government's motion and the fact that fascistic and anti-Semitic elements are in the new Government in Ukraine has not been mentioned either.

Frighteningly, the Minister of State told us he fully supports that government.

It is quite clear that referendum was held in very poor conditions, but it is also clear that the majority of people living in Crimea do support the alliance with Russia. A key part of that is the reactionary nature of the regime in Kiev which offers no way out on the policies of economic austerity. The problems in that area will not be solved by Moscow, Washington or Brussels but by the people in the region.

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