Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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64. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts he intends to make to try to prevent further escalation of the war in Ukraine in his new role as Minister for Foreign Affairs of a neutral country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4515/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I wish the Tánaiste well in his new role. In his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs in a neutral country, what does he intend to do to send the message of neutrality, especially regarding the conflict in Ukraine? As most people have seen, this is a brutal war carried out by a brutal regime.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his comments and for raising this issue.

While Ireland is a militarily neutral country, meaning that we do not participate in military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements, we are not politically or morally neutral in response to Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. Ireland strongly condemns the ongoing, despicable and indiscriminate missile and drone attacks against civilian targets across Ukraine. These are having a devastating impact on Ukraine's energy and other critical civilian infrastructure. The sole aim of such attacks is to terrorise the Ukrainian population. This exacerbates the already challenging humanitarian situation in Ukraine, where millions have been displaced, particularly in the context of a harsh winter. These attacks constitute another unacceptable escalation of the war, and civilians are paying the highest price. Those responsible must be held to account.

During our tenure on the United Nations Security Council we clearly, consistently and unambiguously called on Russia to end its aggression, comply with its obligations under international law and withdraw all its forces unconditionally from the entirety of the sovereign and internationally recognised territory of Ukraine. Ireland will continue to use its voice, including at European Union level and in relevant multilateral fora, to call on the Russian Federation to end its illegal war against Ukraine, to withdraw its forces and engage in genuine dialogue and diplomacy towards peace. We have received President Zelenskyy's ten-point peace plan and have been studying it closely. We will reflect on how Ireland might best contribute to its objectives. We are already involved in many of the areas it covers, including food security, accountability and nuclear safety. We are grateful to the United Nations and other partners for their ongoing efforts. We know there is only one way to end the suffering in Ukraine and that is for Russia to end its illegal war, withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine and restore peace.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will not mince my words. I do not believe that anyone minces their words in this Chamber. Putin is a war criminal. The crimes he has committed in the past year against the Ukrainian people are tantamount to war crimes; they are akin to what Nazi Germany did to most of Europe and Russia. He has caused untold suffering to the Ukrainian people. The resistance by the Ukrainian people has been heroic to the detriment of thousands, including Ukrainian and Russian soldiers. Putin is fixated on continuing this conflict.

Alarm bells start ringing when I see NATO sending hundreds of tanks. I fear that this conflict could escalate into something that is uncontrollable.

That means it could be NATO versus Russia, and that is a completely different kettle of fish.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy’s comments, and their bona fide nature, in respect of Putin's conduct of the war. Russia must be held to account which is why Ireland supports an international tribunal to bring Russia to account in terms of the crime of aggression. War crimes are being committed. It was disappointing in the European Parliament last week that two Irish MEPs refused to support a resolution to establish such a tribunal on the crime of aggression. European Parliament Members Mick Wallace and Clare Daly went against the resolution, which I was shocked to see, while a total of 472 MEPs voted in favour of it.

As for NATO, I note NATO leaders, including Chancellor Scholz and President Macron, did everything they could to stop this war. They did not want this war. President Macron went to Moscow and pleaded with Putin not to go to war. They did not want a war. They would love for the war to end. The UN Charter affords the right to self-defence. That is what is involved here, unfortunately.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Looking at the past year and the evolution of this conflict, who knows where it will end. With continued escalation and more heavy weaponry, such as the tanks provided by the western alliance, someone somewhere will have to ask where we are going with this conflict. Is it escalation or de-escalation? All wars end but this war has the potential to escalate into a war that could go beyond the borders of Ukraine. When heavy weaponry is provided, as the US, Germany and France have done, one wonders how this war will end, where it will end, and the impact on Ireland's neutrality itself. Our neutrality has been questioned over the past year based on our stance towards Ukraine. One can look at Ireland's neutrality particularly in regard to Shannon Airport.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Please, Deputy. Féach ar an gclog.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To the best of my knowledge, the only country to question Ireland's neutrality last year was Russia. In my view, Russia has zero credibility in that regard. We are militarily neutral. We are not politically neutral. We are members of the European Union and the United Nations. The UN Charter is very strong on self-defence. Ukraine is entitled to defend itself against appalling aggression. Every major leader in Europe went to President Putin before the war and pleaded with him not to go to war, that there were better routes, such as dialogue and negotiations. If he was worried about the security architecture of Europe, it could have been resolved. Even when the war started, and as it has continued, President Macron has maintained dialogue with President Putin, as has the German Chancellor. Every effort has been made throughout this to try to get the war stopped but Putin has no interest in peace and has shown no interest in peace. He wants to annihilate Ukraine. He wants to make it a puppet regime under his dominance. He does not want a democracy alongside him.