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Ireland–Russia relations

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Ireland–Russia relations
Map indicating locations of Ireland and Russia

Ireland
Russia

Ireland–Russia relations are the bilateral relations between Ireland and the Russian Federation. Ireland has an embassy in Moscow, and Russia has an embassy in Dublin. Relations have been tense since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russian bombers have deliberately flown into Irish-controlled airspace several times, and have had to be intercepted by the Royal Air Force. Russian spy ships have also been observed mapping undersea communications cables and energy pipelines off the Irish coast. There has also been controversy over Russian plans to hold naval drills in Ireland's exclusive economic zone. Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Irish government imposed sanctions on Russia and expelled Russian diplomats suspected of espionage. Russia responded by expelling Irish diplomats and declaring Ireland an "unfriendly country".

History

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20th century

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In June 1920, as part of the efforts by the Sinn Féin leadership to obtain international recognition of the Irish Republic, a draft treaty with the new Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was circulated in Dublin. E. H. Carr, the historian of early Bolshevism, considered that "the negotiations were not taken very seriously on either side".[1]

Patrick McCartan was to visit Moscow on the instructions of Éamon de Valera to make inquiries on the possibility of mutual recognition. However, before he proceeded "the Soviets had gone cold on ties with the Republic for fear of jeopardising trade negotiations with Britain."[2]

In April 1920, Ireland provided a loan to the Soviet Union. Russian jewels were provided as security, and these jewels were secretly stored in a private suburban house in Dublin until 1938. The loan was repaid in 1948 and the jewels returned to Moscow.[3]

Ireland did not recognize the USSR until 29 September 1973.[4]

Relations between Ireland and Russia became much more active following the end of the Cold War, with many bilateral treaties coming into effect.

21st century

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On 1 February 2011, for the first time since 1983,[5] the Irish government expelled a Russian diplomat based in Dublin after an investigation by the Garda Special Detective Unit (following a tip off from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation) which found that the identities of six Irish citizens had been stolen and used as cover for Russian spies found to have been working in the United States.[6]

An RAF Typhoon intercepting a Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bomber in 2014

Since the 2010s, Russian bomber aircraft have deliberately flown into Irish-controlled airspace several times, without warning, and with their transponders switched off. As the Irish Air Corps lacks air defence, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) have had to intercept these bombers. It is believed that these provocative missions are meant to intimidate, to test RAF response time, and to gather intelligence on British-Irish air defence co-operation.[7]

In February 2015, two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 "Bear" bombers—which can carry nuclear warheads—flew into Irish-controlled airspace twice, with their transponders switched off. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) was forced to delay flights and divert civilian passenger aircraft out of the path of the Russian bombers.[8] The bombers flew within 25 nautical miles of the Irish coast, and were intercepted by RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets scrambled from Britain.[9] Soon after, the Norwegian military confirmed that one of the bombers was carrying a nuclear warhead, after intercepting Russian military communications.[10]

In 2015, the Russian embassy in Dublin received planning permission to erect new buildings on its 2-hectare (4.9-acre) site. Included on the planning application was a large underground complex, marked for storage and plant use, despite there being "plenty of room" to build above ground. Security experts warned that the underground complex could be used by Russian military intelligence. In March 2020, the Irish government scrutinized the plans and revoked building permission, on grounds that it could threaten national security.[11][12]

On 26 March 2018, the Irish government expelled another Russian diplomat. The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the expulsion as "an act of solidarity with the United Kingdom" following a nerve agent attack in Salisbury earlier that month.[13]

There was controversy in January 2022, when Russia announced plans to hold naval drills about 150 nautical miles off the coast of County Cork, within Ireland's exclusive economic zone. It was to involve naval artillery and missiles. The Irish government warned citizens there would be would be "serious safety risks" in the area. Local fishermen, represented by the Irish South and West Fish Producers Association, protested to the Russian embassy that the drills could wipe out their catches and announced they would continue to fish in the area regardless. Russia's Ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov, warned the fishermen to "refrain from any provocative actions which might endanger all involved".[14] Eventually, in response to a request from the Irish government, Russia's Minister of Defence Sergey Shoigu agreed to move the naval drills further away from Ireland "as a gesture of goodwill".[15]

On 24 February 2022, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an "immoral and outrageous breach of the most fundamental principles of international law" and a "shocking murderous act of aggression against a sovereign peaceful state".[16] Ireland was one of many countries to impose sanctions on Russia, and Russia in turn added Ireland to its list of "unfriendly countries".[17]

There were protests against the invasion outside the Russian embassy in Dublin. One protester threw red paint over the Russian coat of arms. Another protester rammed a truck through the embassy gates. The embassy claimed that gardaí did nothing to stop the truck, calling the incident a "blatant violation" of international diplomatic law and demanding that the Irish state ensure the safety of its staff. Gardaí were forced to put up barriers around the building.[18]

The Irish government expelled four Russian diplomats in March 2022 because their activities were "not in accordance with the international standards of diplomatic behaviour". They had been identified as likely being engaged in espionage. It was also highlighted that Russia had an usually high number of diplomats working out of its Dublin embassy, which had long been seen as a hub for Russian intelligence in western Europe.[19] Shortly after, Russia expelled two Irish diplomats from Moscow in retaliation. The Irish foreign ministry said there was "no justification" to expel them.[20] In November, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Russia had sanctioned 52 Irish politicians "in response to the anti-Russian course of the Irish government".[21][22]

In April 2022, Irish citizen Finbar Cafferkey was killed while fighting in Ukraine's International Legion against the Russian invasion. The Tánaiste and Foreign Minister paid tribute to Cafferkey and expressed sympathy to his family. The Russian embassy in Dublin blamed the Irish government and media for his death, and warned that if such tributes "signify support for the Irish to take part in combat in Ukraine ... then Ireland would be the direct participant of the conflict with all the ensuing consequences". This statement was condemned by Irish politicians across the political spectrum.[23]

The Irish Navy and Air Corps have observed Russian "spy ships" which are believed to be mapping critical undersea communications cables and energy pipelines off the Irish coast. Some of them are escorted by Russian warships and are fitted with equipment for sabotaging undersea cables.[24][25][26] In 2023, a Russian Navy submarine positioned itself directly outside the entrance to Cork Harbour, on the edge of Irish territorial waters. It was tracked and "chased off" by a British Royal Air Force helicopter and Royal Navy frigate, because Irish Navy ships do not have sonar.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Carr, EH The Bolshevik Revolution 1917–23, vol 3, Penguin Books, London, 4th reprint (1983), pp. 257–258. The draft treaty was published for propaganda purposes in the 1921 British document Intercourse between Bolshevism and Sinn Féin (Cmd 1326).
  2. ^ O'Connor, Emmet (2004). Reds and the green: Ireland, Russia and the Communist Internationals, 1919–43. University College Dublin Press. p. 47. ISBN 9781904558194.
  3. ^ How the Russian crown jewels went from the palaces of the Romanovs to Harry Boland's family home in Dublin, RTE, April 3rd 2020
  4. ^ Irish-Soviet diplomatic and friendship relations, 1919–80
  5. ^ Fitzgerald, Mary (2 February 2011). "Diplomat expelled from embassy of the Russian Federation after revelations on spies' Irish passports". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Ireland expels Russian envoy over faked spy passports". BBC News. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  7. ^ Burke, Edward (10 March 2020). "What are Russian bombers doing in Irish airspace?". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ O’Riordan, Sean (3 March 2015). "Passenger planes dodged Russian bombers". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Russian bombers disrupted planes in Irish airspace". Telegraph.co.uk. 4 March 2015.
  10. ^ O’Riordan, Sean (12 February 2015). "Russian bomber in Irish air space 'had nuclear weapon'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  11. ^ Spy games: expulsion of diplomats shines light on Russian espionage (15 April 2022). The Guardian.
  12. ^ "Why a Russian embassy expansion alarmed the Irish Government". RTÉ News. 15 March 2022.
  13. ^ Expulsion of Russian diplomat 'will not go unanswered' (27 March 2018). RTÉ News.
  14. ^ "How a group of Irish fishermen forced the Russian Navy into a U-turn". CNN. 31 January 2022.
  15. ^ Griffin, Caitlín (29 January 2022). "Russia will not carry out naval exercises off Cork coast 'as gesture of goodwill'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  16. ^ Kenny, Aine (24 February 2022). "Russia's attack on Ukraine 'immoral and outrageous', says Taoiseach". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  17. ^ Lee, Michael (8 March 2020). "Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list". CTV News.
  18. ^ "Gardaí to erect barriers outside Russian embassy after truck crashes through gate". Irish Examiner. 7 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Four senior Russian diplomats expelled from State following 'security advice'". The Irish Times. 29 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Two Irish diplomats expelled from Moscow". The Irish Times. 7 April 2022.
  21. ^ MFA Russia (16 November 2022). "В ответ на антироссийский курс правительства Ирландии принято решение о внесении в российский «стоп-лист» 52 ключевых представителей руководства и политических деятелей Ирландии". Telegram (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  22. ^ Tony Connelly [@tconnellyRTE] (16 November 2022). "BREAKING: Russia sanctions 52 Irish politicians "in response to the anti-Russian course of the Irish government" Statement from Russian foreign ministry..." (Tweet). Retrieved 14 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Ní Aodha, Gráinne (30 April 2023). "TDs condemn 'vile' Russian embassy statement on Irishman's death in Ukraine". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Navy vessel escorts Russian 'subsea spy ship' out of Irish water". Irish Examiner. 16 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Defence Forces monitor armed Russian naval vessel off west coast". The Irish Times. 7 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Russians may have been mapping cables off Ireland since 2014, expert claims". Irish Examiner. 31 January 2022.
  27. ^ "Russian submarine 'chased' from Cork Harbour by British navy". irish Examiner. 12 December 2023.
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