TAOISEACH Micheál Martin today (Thursday) told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ireland will help with “robotic ground drones” allowing Ukraine to rescue and recover injured or dead Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline in the country’s ongoing war with invading Russian troops.
The Taoiseach told President Zelenskyy, who visited Shannon Airport earlier today ahead of a visit to Washington where he will meet with US President Donald Trump, that Ireland remained committed to financially supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, and in supporting Ukraine refugees who fled the conflict for a better life here.
Ireland will also help fund a programme to feed school children in war-torn Ukraine, as well as a “food for Syria programme, whereby Ukrainian grain is now feeding and helping distressed Syrians, and of course, Ukrainian farmers are benefitting from that”, Mr Martin told reporters at Shannon.
The Taoiseach said President Zelenskyy was “very thankful to the people of Ireland for Ireland’s sustained support of the Ukrainian people and of Ukraine, as they battle through this terrible war”.
“There is interestingly, and unfortunately at a time of terrible war, significant innovation underway and he (President Zelenskyy) was explaining to us how they have developed robotic ground drones to evacuate their injured from the frontline, and that is technology we can support financially to enable them to bring back soldiers who are injured,” Mr Martin explained.
The Taoiseach also pledged Ireland’s support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, a move that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not objected to, although he has sternly objected to any attempt by Ukraine to join the military alliance, NATO.
Before ordering his troops into Ukraine in February 2022, President Putin sought legal guarantees from the US that Ukraine would not be admitted to NATO.
The Taoiseach said he “made it clear” to President Zelenskyy that Ireland will “push very strongly for an accelerated timeline in terms of Ukrainian membership of the European Union, because, in itself, it gives certain security and economic guarantees to Ukraine, and he appreciates our steadfast support”.
Ceasefire
Mr Martin said Mr Zelenskyy “was very clear” in their meeting, which was held at a VIP arrivals room in Shannon Airport amidst tight security, that “any moves” towards a peace deal with Russia “would have to be sustainable, durable, and comprehensive” for Ukraine, and that would have to involve “significant security guarantees and deterrents into the future, which is something we (Ireland) agree with”.
Mr Martin said that any potential ceasefire “on its own doesn’t give you the longer-term security” and that ceasefires alone are “notoriously difficult to monitor without their being a wider comprehensive and durable settlement, so I think that is an issue”.
For a lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine, there would have to be a “wider comprehensive durable settlement”, Mr Martin said.
Despite President Trump recently describing President Zelensky as a “dictator”, after the Ukraine President criticised him as “living in a disinformation space” created by Russia, and President Trump suggesting Ukraine started the war with Russia, Mr Martin said President Zelenskyy “values very much the support he has received from the United States, who are a very strong partner to Ukraine”.
The Taoiseach moved to reassure Ukrainian refugees in Ireland that their state benefits would not end abruptly and that no final decision had bene made as to whether or not there would be changes to the payment.
“I think we have been fair to Ukrainian families in Ireland, and we will work with the ambassador here, we are conscious that (Ukrainian) people have children who are in schools and so forth, and there will be a further meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee, on migration more generally, but obviously on the Ukrainian situation, which is more specific and separate on one level and involves accommodation issues and so on, but there wont be any immediate sort of ‘cliff-edge’ (decision) and that is important for (Ukrainian) people.”
When asked for a response to a threat by US President Trump that he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on European Union goods, Mr Martin replied that “free trade” had created “an unprecedented rise in prosperity” in Ireland and that “tariffs can damage economies, cause an inflationary spiral and increase prices for consumers”.
On the question of whether he had received an invitation to attend the White House on St Patrick’s Day, as is tradition between the US and Ireland, Mr Martin would only say that Ireland has a “wonderful” and “important” relationship with the United States and that he was looking forward to receiving an invitation from President Trump.
