IRELAND could be set to join 14 other EU states today if it decides to expel Russian diplomats from the country.
It comes after British officials accused Russia of responsibility for the attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia - either by directly ordering the attack, or through losing control of the Soviet Union developed nerve agent allegedly used.
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was presented with a list of options last night after a review of Russian activity here.
The pressure to come to a decision is heightened this morning as 21 countries around the world have announced they are expelling Russian diplomats, with the EU and US announcing coordinated action yesterday afternoon.
Fourteen EU States decided to expel a total of 32 Russian diplomats in a co-ordinated move yesterday.
Minister Coveney is expected to brief his cabinet colleagues on the issue this morning.
Speaking in an interview with RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live show, Russian Ambassador Yury Filatov said the government should put the best interests of the Irish and Russian public first and “not someone else’s interest” which he said “might be the case”.
He said the two countries have a “huge amount of goodwill” and he did not see a need to ruin it: "The only thing I know for sure, from the onset of the whole incident on 4 March in Salisbury – the British government has moved away from dealing with that in a responsible manner. So, they preferred to wage a propaganda campaign, unprecedented, surely."
Britain has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats, with Moscow retaliating with a tit-for-tat move.
Last night, Minister Coveney said he will take “appropriate action” to “show solidarity with our closest neighbour” in relation to the incident.
Simon Coveney: "You can expect that Ireland will take action tomorrow that's appropriate and that will show solidarity with our closest neighbour." pic.twitter.com/fiqPk9c07c
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 26, 2018
A decision is expected later today.
