Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 21 officers at the Embassy of the Russian Federation who have been notified to my Department under Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations - 9 Diplomats and 12 Administrative and Technical staff.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine there were a total of 30 officers at the Embassy, 14 diplomats and 16 Administrative and Technical staff.

As with all of our responses to this crisis, Ireland continues to keep our policies and practices under review and will continue to coordinate closely with other EU Member States on our engagement with Russia, including keeping the size of embassy personnel under review.

Despite our strong disagreement with the actions taken by Russia since their unjustified and illegal further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Government's view is that diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open. This is in the interests of our own citizens, both in Russia itself and in the five central Asian republics to which Ireland is accredited via our Embassy in Moscow. It also allows us to continue to formally convey the Government's strong objection to the illegal and unwarranted war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Additionally, it allows us to engage on a range of operational issues, in line with our obligations under the VCDR.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Despite our strong disagreement with the actions taken by Russia since their unjustified and illegal further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Government's view is that diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open. This is in the interests of our own citizens, both in Russia itself and in the five central Asian republics to which Ireland is accredited via our Embassy in Moscow. It also allows us to continue to formally convey the Government's strong objection to the illegal and unwarranted war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine.

Additionally, it allows us to engage on a range of operational issues, in line with our obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR). This is the international agreement on arrangements for diplomats and diplomatic missions to which both Ireland and the Russian Federation are party.

There are currently 21 officers at the Embassy of the Russian Federation who have been notified to my Department under Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations - 9 Diplomats and 12 Administrative and Technical staff.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine there were a total of 30 officers at the Embassy, 14 diplomats and 16 Administrative and Technical staff.

As with all of our responses to this crisis, Ireland continues to keep our policies and practices under review and will continue to coordinate closely with other EU Member States on our engagement with Russia, including keeping the size of embassy personnel under review.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department and our Embassies around the world, have been engaged in outreach for over a year, in support of Ukraine and in strong opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This outreach has included playing an active role at multilateral level to support Ukraine, to hold Russia accountable, and to demand that Russia respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity and unconditionally withdraw its troops from within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.

We have been at the forefront of efforts to confront Russia in the UN General Assembly, where they have repeatedly been defeated.

Most recently, these efforts resulted in the overwhelming adoption by the UN membership of the most recent United Nations General Assembly Resolution regarding the situation in Ukraine, adopted on 23 February. The Resolution, which Ireland co-sponsored and played an active role in securing global support for, called on Russia to immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine. An overwhelming majority of 141 countries voted in favour of the Resolution. China, India and South Africa abstained during this vote.

We have been consistently clear, both with our partners, and also with those with whom we disagree, that this war is illegal, unjustified and in total violation of the principles of the UN Charter. We have made this position clear at multilateral level, as well as bilaterally, with China, India and South Africa. In respect of China, I met with Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and former Foreign Minister, at the Munich Security Conference in February, and Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine was a core element of our discussions. Senior officials in my Department travelled to Delhi in October for consultations with the Indian government, which included detailed discussion of the situation in Ukraine. In respect of South Africa, our Embassy in Pretoria has been active, bilaterally with the South African government and as part of wider EU discussions with South Africa, on this issue.

We have also, together with our partners, repeatedly emphasised that the Russian invasion has impacts and implications well beyond Ukraine, including in terms of respect for international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, as well as heightened food and energy insecurity.