James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the sanctions that are in place against third countries involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine, especially those providing arms and military support to the invader; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57840/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The EU has imposed the most significant sanctions in its history in response to the situation in Ukraine. While the majority of these sanctions have been imposed on the Russian Federation, action has also been taken in respect of third countries who have provided support for the illegal actions taken, namely Belarus and Iran.

With regard to Iran, on 20 October, the EU adopted additional targeted sanctions against Iranian individuals and an entity involved in the development of drones and their delivery to Russia.

On 20 October I summoned the Iranian Ambassador to Ireland and urged Iran to stop supplying weaponry to Russia. Russia’s deliberate and repeated targeting of Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure is a gross violation of international law. Iran’s supply of weaponry to Russia is directly contributing to these violations.

In relation to Belarus, since 2020, Ireland has engaged extensively in the development of sanctions against Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime. These were developed in response to human rights violations against the Belarusian people, the violent suppression of political dissent, the forced diversion of a Ryanair aircraft last year, and the instrumentalisation of vulnerable migrants.

In response to its role in facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU targeted Lukashenko’s regime with further extensive packages of sanctions, which Ireland co-sponsored.  These restrictive measures include, but are not limited to, trade restrictions on Belarus and sanctions against Belarusian military leaders.