FOUR SENIOR Russian officials have been asked to leave Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
The decision was made as their activities have been deemed to not be "in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour."
The action is being taken under Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which states that at any time the receiving State may terminate the functions of the head of a mission or any member of diplomatic staff "without having to explain its decision".
"The Government continues to believe that diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open," a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
"This is in the interests of our citizens as well as to ensure that we can continue to have a diplomatic channel of communication between Ireland and the Russian Federation in the future.
"This channel of communication has been important in the context of conveying our strong views on the Russia Federation's war against Ukraine, which we regard as a serious breach of international law."
Statement by Minister Coveney on the expulsion of Russian Embassy officials
👉https://t.co/G4z8fm6uqw pic.twitter.com/pQDF2k0wPo— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) March 29, 2022
Russian Ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov was summoned to Iveagh House this afternoon to be informed of the decision.
At the end of February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that he didn't think it would be wise to expel the Russian ambassador, but suggested that other embassy staff and operatives may be expelled in the future.
