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MINISTER FOR FOREIGN Affairs Simon Coveney has said that Russian missile tests in international waters off the Irish coast are “not welcome”.
Speaking on his way into a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Coveney said he had informed the Russian ambassador to Ireland that this was not the time for military exercises.
The Journal reported on Saturday that the Irish government has received a warning of a major exercise by the Russian navy and air force in the Atlantic off the south west coast planned for the first week of February.
The area concerned is a relatively small area of water that is approximately 240 kilometres off the Irish coast. The area is in international waters but is within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone and is patrolled by Irish Naval ships and Air Corps Casa aircraft.
Coveney said this morning that he will be briefing his EU counterparts on these planned Russian military exercises in the Atlantic.
“That is in international waters but it is also part of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ireland. And so we don’t have the power to prevent this happening,” he said.
But certainly, I’ve made it clear to the Russian ambassador in Ireland, that it’s not welcome. This isn’t a time to increase military activity and tension in the context of what’s happening with and in Ukraine at the moment. And so I think it’s important that I would brief my colleagues on those intentions.
Coveney added that while Russia had the right to undertake the planned exercises, the timing of the plans and the location is “not wanted”.
Russia, under International Law of the Sea, can of course undertake military exercises in international water but the fact that they’re choosing to do it on the western borders of the EU, off the Irish coast, is something that in our view is simply not welcome and not wanted right now, particularly in the coming weeks.
The Brussels meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers is expected to be dominated by the security situation in Ukraine in the context of the build up of Russian military on the country’s eastern border.
The EU has said it is not following the decision of the United State and the UK to withdraw diplomats’ families from Ukraine.
The US’ top diplomat Secretary of State Antony Blinken will today brief the Foreign Affairs Council on his meetings with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in recent days.
The US is trying to marshal its allies to prepare an unprecedented package of sanctions for Moscow if its sends in its forces — and European Union members insist they could hit the Kremlin with “massive consequences” in days if needed.
Coveney said that if Russia was to invade Ukraine there would be “very severe consequences” for Moscow from the EU “in terms of sanctions and restrictions that would follow very quickly”.
Weapons
The United States, Britain and Baltic states have already agreed to send weapons, including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
Germany has refused to send arms and the country’s navy chief Kay-Achim Schoenbach was forced to resign over the weekend after he had said it was ”nonsense” to think Russia was going to invade Ukraine.
It’s also been reported that planes carrying British arms to Ukraine did not use German airspace because the country’s new government was opposed to the arm shipments.
Asked today about Germany’s position in blocking arms to Ukraine, Coveney said “these are conversations we’ll have with our allies”.
“We’ve just come from a an informal meeting in Brest a week ago and I can tell you the discussions that we had in relation to Russia and Ukraine was a discussion where ministers put their scripts aside and started speaking to each other in very blunt terms about the need for EU unity, strong messaging to Russia and a focus on defusing tension rather than increasing tension,” he said.
“But should Russia decide to take military action against Ukraine, I think there will be a very strong resolve to act in a very decisive and united manner.”
- With reporting by Niall O’Connor
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Mary lou on the news, wants to build our navy and army to defend us against attack. Going to be some craic sending the lads out of dingle to take on the russians.
@Chris Mc: and you can bet then she would be the first person on complaining that the government are ploughing money into the military instead of houses and heath care.
@Chris Mc: She must know a few lads with military experience…
@Chris Mc: if it wasn’t for navy and military intelligence cooperation vessels such as the Claudia and Eksund full of weapons for terrorists wouldn’t have been intercepted
@Chris Mc: don’t worry! We have our Air Corps with its PC-9 training aircraft and machine guns. They will take out the Russians!!!
@Chris Mc: D-Day
@Brian Kelly: lol against 5 generation fighter jets. I understand your comment though lol
@Brian Kelly: lol against 5th generation fighter jets. I understand your comment though lol
@Chris Mc: would that be the same navy that has appealed to old experienced veterans to come back out of retirement to fill the ranks, because FFG refuse to pay recruits a decent wage or provide them with sleeping accommodation?
By the way – these waters which Coveney has got himself worked up about – how many, if any, Irish trawlers are allowed to fish in them?
@Fifty Shades of Sé: her front bench for starters. The Lady from Rathgar and wants to take on the Russians. She’s been listening to too many Wolfe Tones’ songs. The Russians have more than 16 pounder guns. I’ve heard it all now. Reminds me of the time Gay Mitchell wanted Ireland to hold the Olympics. She’s continuing to cosy up to he defence forces as she wants their votes.
@Brian Kelly: A few Sopwith Camels would be so slow the Mig-29 would constantly overshoot them and made of wood and canvas they would slip through radar undetected – a master plan.
@alan scott: To be honest Alan, I’m not having a go at our “Air Corps” their a fantastic group of people. It’s our government! At this day and age we should have high speed interceptor fighter aircraft for our Air Corps.
@Stephen Kearon: Charles Haughey, Neil Blaney and Kevin Boland .
Better not to get involved Simon.
@Shane McGrath: we’re involved whether we want to be or not. Russia’s exercise is specifically designed to make us feel intimidated.
@Zack Twamley: Not just us, but the EU.
@Zack Twamley: Why should we feel intimidated with a few ships bopping up and down in international Atlantic waters
@Zack Twamley: I dont think Russia cares one bit about intimidating Ireland.
@Zack Twamley: An extremely uninformed comment.
@Zack Twamley: it’s international waters.
It has nothing got to do with Ireland.
A while back the British had one of their subs in our seas and there was nothing said or done about it.
I’m very anti Russia but it’s a bit doubled sided to be honest.
To be honest nothing Ireland can do about it regardless. Is Simon going to send Michael D Higgins as a peacemaker with a white flag of surrender or peace?
@alan scott: In fairness those were the subs we know of. The last sub that we didn’t know of managed to drag a fishing boat under. So really we only need to attach nets to any Russian ships & ask the UK to officially avoid them ;-/
Simon can say what he wants, but there is nothing that we can do about it
@Paul Maguire: think that’s the point he made.
Russia’s exercises off our coast are all the more reason for Ireland to face reality and join NATO.
@Stephen Kearon: Feck no. Ireland isn’t going to be dragged into NATO’s wars. Nearly every NATO member ended up sending in ground troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Why would you want that for Irish troops?
@Stephen Kearon: Eh…… No.
@Roy Dowling:
The DF have had troops in Afghanistan.
@Stephen Kearon: I disagree wholly. Right now no ooutside force has a reason to attack Ireland. Join NATO we give U.S. and U.K. enemies plenty of reason to label Ireland as aggressors. We are not, we remain neutral and stay out of other nation’s petty power squabbles. Coventry is just trying to self virtue-signal to the U.S. and U.K. with this dribble. He’s thinking about his future career and not the sacred sovereignty of Ireland. Russia applied in the correct manner to run Atlantic exercises. The U.S. and U.K. use our waters for this stuff all the time and it doesn’t make the news. Certain amount of obvious hypocrisy applied here Simon, from a guy who freely allows fully laden U.S. warplanes refuel at Shannon civilian airport.
@The Grand Nagus: I know and they shouldn’t have been. But if Ireland join NATO our defence forces will be sent Into a lot more warzone that would be started other NATO states.
@Stephen Kearon: Fully agree. I’m not taking pot at our Air Corps, their a great bunch of guys & girls. Give them the proper aircraft ( high altitude intercept fighter aircraft) and we would have a very good defense.
@Shane McGrath: but we ask the uk to defend us using our tax’s to do so? Stop with the 50 year old Ireland is Impartial rubbish. We are the weakest link in the EU. Our forces are badly trained and badly out numbered, our equipment is out-dated and our Air corp is using 40 year old planes FFS. With NATO we will get state of the art equipment, training and resources.
It’s time for Ireland to wake up and smell the coffee. Why should the British continue to defend us if we are unable to do our part?
I would be willing to pay more tax to keep Ireland safe and prosperous in the years ahead.
@alan scott: only a very small minority care about Ireland having state of the art war equipment. Surely we are better to have old equipment and not need it than state of the art stuff and require its use? We are and should remain neutral to all international political power pushes. We can support human right violations without initiating aggressive language on alternate superpowers that have no beef with our small, sovereign island. I think your comment about having state of the art war equipment is like that of a pre-teen wanting a ps5 over an xbox…. But that’s just my opinion. There is no war, except the one that the UK and UK are begging for, so they can use up their soon-to-be-defunk weaponry…………….. So they can buy more.
@Shane McGrath: I agree.
NATO is an offensive, not a defensive organisation. It has a horrendous record of destruction and destabilisation. It’s the sales and marketing dept of the arms industries with zero concern for human rights. It supports murderous dictatorships like Saudi Arabia.
It’s the last mob we need to join.
@Kieran Woods: exactly.
@Shane McGrath: I don’t think anyone can realistically claim that Ireland is neutral
Realistically, there’s not much a small country like Ireland can do against Russian military posturing off our coast. We can, and no doubt will, protest against this, but that’s all we can do.
Our sea and air defences are almost non-existent. I guess previous governments didnt think security of the country was very important..
@Munster1: Even if we had sea and air defence nothing they could do about it as tests are being carried out in international waters not Irish waters. We’ve no authority to do anything at all.
@Roy Dowling: obviously we could do little. That doesn’t mean we should be toothless.
@Munster1: we have the Brits to help. Secret agreement that was recently declassified.
@Munster1: it doesn’t matter if we had a full carrier group. The test is in international waters. Nothing at all we can do
@alan scott: Has anyone asked the question if this was the first time the Russians, British and NATO navies have carried out military exercises in Irish waters, Or is Simon just raising this particular one to distract away from another story that has him in the news of late?
I seem to remember some incidences back in the 1980′s-1990′s when British Submarines got caught up in Irish trawlers nets and dragged those vessels for miles and some times below the water – but never recall our governments back then complaining about or to the British for being in our waters.
Send out the bull McCabe,look what happened the last donkey that entered his field
Cleaver chess playing by Russia to mark the western approaches and just over the fiber optic cables come up. Especially after recent surprise damage to cables in Norway. Ukraine in grave danger now as moon goes dark?
@Rob Duggan: Another step toward a European army.
I don’t think that Ireland can do or say anything. Like the article says “The area is in international waters but is within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone”. International waters is International waters. The article tries to frame it in such a way that it isn’t. They aren’t fishing or extracting oil. “With the negotiation of the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, the allowed breadth of a territorial sea claim was extended to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres)”. Russia is 240km off the coast. If it was Turkey, the US or the UK. We couldn’t stop them either.
@Diarmuid O’Braonáin: The irony is that when NATO warships or fighters venture off Russian coast in the black sea, they are in their absolute good rights to do so. Biden and the democrates have made a big mistake to flex their muscles from start that way – De-escalation will be difficult for neither of them lose their face.
@Eric Vdc: if a US warship in 25km off the Russian coast. They are perfectly allowed. Its international waters.
I just want to be the first to say that i always had a soft spot for the russians.
Just get me spake in before this all kicks off.
@Fr Romeo sensini.: good plan…. I’m enrolling in Russian language night classes….
@Fr Romeo sensini.: As Red’s go, their not the worst! Prefer them over a few others. Makes sense to have the kettle on for them.
@Fr Romeo sensini.: I am changing from Sean nos dancing to that Russian dancing on my ar$e. Hurts like hell so far , probably should start drinking vodka and less on the jamo.
What about the armed Americans allowed in Shannon????
@John Mc Auley: We are not neutral – we are non-aligned – Russians and US are entitled to land in Shannon – during the Cold War Russians used Shannon as a stopover when visiting Cuba
I wonder can I track all this activity on my Vessel Finder app. I would imagine It would be very worrying for the commercial ships passing through the area of the military exercises…..
@Peter B: No worries. These excercises are carried out by most navies. Commercial shipping are aware and rerouted away. Nothing new here.
Is there anything to be said for another mass
Just waiting for the suggestions of “let’s join the European Army and NATO”
Headline should read Russia military exercises halfway between America and Russia, while over 100,000 Russian military at the Ukraine border, significant here’s hoping diplomacy sorts this mess out.
It would be great if Ireland had a balanced approach to the military of foreign states…. every day we allow US military to refuel at Shannon Airport as they fly lethal arms to Ukraine….. we must stop supporting violence….
@Fergus Quinlan: Ireland has very deep economic and cultural ties to the US. We have virtually no ties to Russia. Why should we be ‘balanced’?
Gas lads them Russians next thing they will be buying up apartment blocks along the quays to rent back to us. Allegedly.
Don’t be worried Irish comrades we mean you no harm.
Way to take a stand. We don’t really want you here so you won’t get the tea and fig rolls.
@Barry Dempsey: way to not understand. We can’t do anything about it as it takes place in international waters.
@Barry Dempsey: we could do a few fly overs with our biplanes and launch a few RNLI ribs to scare them away :)
@GrumpyAulFella: You’re a bit out of date, we do have LEs.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: I don’t think Niamh and Roisin will be much of a match for nuclear powered Anya and Elina.
Shaking in their boots
We should ask the Russians to lend us some ships and a Radar so that we can observe the Russians.
The Russians are coming – https://www.rt.com/russia/546944-navy-baltic-fleet-exercises/ always interesting to read more than one side of a story.
There is not much Ireland can do about it consdering the state of our naval defense…
I could not fing any location map in the news, you have to go on Twitter to get one:
https://twitter.com/RobGilbey/status/1485021361747775489/photo/1
@Dr. Emmett Lathrop: There’s no need to do anything about it. It won’t bother us in the slightest.
Imagine of they actually used are country to fuel up jets on the way to bomb other countries..
They can this but mark my words it’ll be the last!!!
Send out Eithne, James Joyce, and those wonderful men in their flying machines.
That should frighten the bejaysus out of those Russians.
have your say