Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. It is accepted that we all have enormous sympathy for the civilians in Syria and we all condemn the war. Unfortunately, at this stage, that is not enough. Has it been made clear to the Russian ambassador that normal diplomatic relations as we know them with Russia must come under the closest scrutiny if this genocide continues? I do not say that lightly. I am speaking about the country's diplomatic representation here and our bilateral relationship. Something similar must happen with the European Union as it has gone down the line of appeasement. We can consider the violation of Ukraine sovereignty and the creeping aggression of Russia over the past while. Likewise, the strategy in Syria has been to render Europe and the United States essentially helpless bystanders as thousands of children, women and other innocent civilians are being murdered by all sorts of highly destructive weaponry such as bombs. The pictures of young children being dragged from rubble represents an appalling indictment of the modern world.

It is appalling that a so-called major power can engage, without any sanctions, in Syria and essentially, in a genocidal way, obliterate the population. Some of the choices facing Europe in the coming weeks and months may be unpalatable in terms of how we deal with this but deal with it we must if we are to have any moral compass in the context of how we conduct international relationships into the future. Russia has gone too far on this occasion, by any yardstick, in terms of international geopolitics. It is completely unacceptable and the Dáil should unite in condemnation of what is going on in Aleppo today - not last month, two months ago or six months ago but today. I appreciate the work of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, in this area.

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