Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said European states are worried about the “direction of travel” of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russia on Ukraine
US and Russian officials are meeting on Tuesday in Riyadh for the most significant talks to date between the two former Cold War foes on ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The two sides were expected to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore US-Russian relations. European leaders were not invited to the talks, nor were representatives from Ukraine.
Speaking in Dublin in advance of a Cabinet meeting where Ukraine was on the agenda, the Taoiseach said: “Europe will have to be at the talks because a peace agreement will not work without European participation to some degree and at some stage.”
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Mr Martin added: “The fundamental point in any peace deal is it has to be sustainable and it has to be durable.
[ Ireland could give Ukraine €50m in non-lethal military support, Cabinet to hearOpens in new window ]
“For that to happen there has to be very significant security guarantees to Ukraine and an assurance that this deal will not just be a temporary one and that Russia would continue its aggression.”
He said the questions that arise are “quite fundamental to European countries and to the security of Europe more broadly.”
Mr Martin said: “There’s some distance to go yet before the shape of any peace deal emerges and, yes, European states are worried in terms of the direction of travel.
“That said, everybody wants this war to end. It is a horrible war. Hundreds of thousands of young people have lost their lives... If we can get a sustainable peace that would be good for everybody but Ukraine has to be at the heart of it. There cannot really be a peace deal without Ukraine.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris separately said Ukraine and Europe must be involved in negotiations.
“Everybody wants to see an end to the war but how that peace is brought about matters,” he said.
Mr Harris is expected to update the Cabinet on the situation in Ukraine and Ireland’s support for the country,
Ireland could provide Ukraine with €50 million in non-lethal military support under proposals aimed at circumventing Hungary’s blocking of some European Union funding for the war-torn country.
Asked by reporters about the prospect of Irish peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine in the future, Mr Harris said there is a process that is followed by Ireland in considering any mission and “we’re simply not at that point yet.” of the negotiations in Saudi Arabia between the US and Russia on Ukraine
US and Russian officials are meeting on Tuesday in Riyadh for the most significant talks to date between the two former Cold War foes on ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The two sides were expected to discuss ways to end the conflict in Ukraine and restore US-Russian relations. European leaders were not invited to the talks, nor were representatives from Ukraine.
Speaking in Dublin in advance of a Cabinet meeting where Ukraine was on the agenda, the Taoiseach said: “Europe will have to be at the talks because a peace agreement will not work without European participation to some degree and at some stage.”
Mr Martin added: “The fundamental point in any peace deal is it has to be sustainable and it has to be durable.
“For that to happen there has to be very significant security guarantees to Ukraine and an assurance that this deal will not just be a temporary one and that Russia would continue its aggression.”
He said the questions that arise are “quite fundamental to European countries and to the security of Europe more broadly.”
Mr Martin said: “There’s some distance to go yet before the shape of any peace deal emerges and, yes, European states are worried in terms of the direction of travel.
“That said, everybody wants this war to end. It is a horrible war. Hundreds of thousands of young people have lost their lives... If we can get a sustainable peace that would be good for everybody but Ukraine has to be at the heart of it. There cannot really be a peace deal without Ukraine.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Harris separately said Ukraine and Europe must be involved in negotiations.
“Everybody wants to see an end to the war but how that peace is brought about matters,” he said.
Mr Harris is expected to update the Cabinet on the situation in Ukraine and Ireland’s support for the country,
Ireland could provide Ukraine with €50 million in non-lethal military support under proposals aimed at circumventing Hungary’s blocking of some European Union funding for the war-torn country.
Asked by reporters about the prospect of Irish peacekeepers being sent to Ukraine in the future, Mr Harris said there is a process that is followed by Ireland in considering any mission and “we’re simply not at that point yet.”
