Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. We are involved in various efforts to bring a resolution to this, particularly with regard to our membership of OSCE. There are a number of formats under that organisation to try to bring a resolution to this matter. OSCE provides a space for discussion between East and West, effectively Europe and Asia. It is a very important format. We have been to the fore in trying to ensure OSCE has a proper budget to do its job.

I do not have an update today on the Normandy format talks that are under way. That involves France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. We certainly want those to succeed. We do not want war. We are the middle ground but that middle ground for me is that we do not support invasions of other countries. We want those talks to succeed and the Normandy format is there as part of the Minsk protocols. There is much potential there to bring peace and stability to the region.

France has the Presidency of the Council and European Union now and I understand French President Macron will have a phone call with Russian President Putin on Friday. We support President Macron's efforts as well on behalf of the EU, as France has the Presidency, in trying to bring a peaceful solution to this. We are certainly available to do whatever is required. Our traditional policy of military neutrality is very important in this respect. The other side of this is that when countries have military alliances, we are not at the table. NATO is an example of this so we are not part of the NATO discussions. There are, of course, other formats where we are involved, including the European Council, OSCE and the UN Security Council, if it can be discussed there. I certainly agree with the Deputy's comments and the services of the State are at the disposal of any of the parties involved in these discussions.

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