TANAISTE and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has announced that one Russian diplomat is to be expelled from Ireland.
The news comes just one day after 14 EU States decided to expel a total of 32 Russian diplomats in a coordinated move.
Minister Coveney said: “The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons, by anyone, anywhere, is particularly shocking and abhorrent.
“The attack in Salisbury was just an attack against the United Kingdom, but an affront to the international rules-based system on which we all depend for our security and well-being.
“In light of the European Council conclusions, and following an assessment conducted by the security services and relevant departments.
“I have briefed the government on my intended course of action.
“The Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has subsequently met with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation and informed him that the accreditation of a member of his staff with diplomatic status is to be terminated, in line with the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
“The individual in question is required to leave the jurisdiction.”
Russia currently has 17 diplomats working out of the Russian Embassy, located in Rathgar in south Dublin.
