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Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said it is time for the European Union to introduce sanctions against Russia because of their military engagement in Ukraine.
There was no way the EU could ignore such a blatant breach of international law, he told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
Russia was trying to provide a “staged justification” for entering Ukraine, he said of president Vladimir Putin’s recognition of two breakaway regions. Peacekeeping forces did not send in tanks and helicopters, he said.
He was speaking as EU ambassadors met in Brussels to hash out whether the move by Mr Putin, who ordered Russian troops to secure the self-declared republics in eastern Ukraine, constitutes an invasion and how to respond.
The 27 member states are expected to agree on some sanctions targeting individuals involved in the land grab of Donetsk and Luhansk, but hold back on tougher steps that could hit wider economic ties.
Mr Coveney said Russia’s stance was troubling which was why the US, the UK and the EU would be issuing sanctions to stop further Russian action. “This is a situation where there needs to be focus on diplomacy and dialogue.”
A full package of sanctions would not be introduced unless there was a full invasion, Mr Coveney added. “The EU will have to respond in a firm way.”
International law did not recognise the actions of Russian troops in moving into a part of Ukraine even if president Putin recognised them as independent states.
The EU will send “a very firm message” to criticise Russia’s actions, said Mr Coveney.
There remained between 60-70 Irish citizens in Ukraine all of whom had been encouraged to leave in recent days, but some were married to Ukrainian citizens, had families and considered Ukraine as their home. It would now be difficult to get out, he warned.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has been communicating with Irish families awaiting a surrogate baby in Ukraine. The situation was “hugely traumatic” for them. The advice remained not to travel to Ukraine. “We will work with families to ensure they are reunited with their children as soon as possible.”
Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne also said the EU must inflict tough sanctions on Russia.
“What’s happened is a grotesque breach of international law. It’s a grotesque breach of the sovereignty of Ukraine,” Mr Byrne said.
“That is something that Ireland . . . we struggled to obtain in terms of directing our own foreign policy, and our own territorial integrity.”
Russia supplies an estimated 40 per cent of EU gas imports, and one point of division between EU member states has been over whether the energy trade should be affected. Interrupting the flow of gas would hurt Russia economically but would also cause the EU supply problems at a time when prices are already high. Mr Byrne called for the acceleration of the transition to alternative energy sources in order to improve the EU’s geopolitical resilience.
“One of the things that Putin I think fears is the whole climate change agenda, where we have tried to remove our dependence on gas particularly from Russia,” he said. “We’ve got to accelerate our move to alternative fields in the coming years. And that’s a really, really important geopolitical objective as well as being a climate objective as well,” he added.
“Ireland is not directly affected by Russian gas as much as others are. But the supply of gas to Europe is a big problem, there’s no question about that.”
The Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, has denied that Russia is preparing for war. “We are ready to ensure peace”.
“War is never an option for us” he told RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show. War was not a good option “when trouble comes” but Russia was “perfectly able” to defend itself and its people.
The EU had “failed miserably” and sanctions would not be an issue for Russia, added the ambassador.