Ukraine’s Ambassador to Ireland has encouraged people not to buy Jameson whiskey due to the company’s decision to resume trade in Russia.
Larysa Gerasko said she would not be buying Jameson products anymore and that it was a “matter of morality” for Irish pubs and restaurants to decide whether they would continue to do so.
Jameson, which is owned by the French company Pernod Ricard, resumed sales in Russia last year. It said that it was complying with international sanctions and managing the “complex and extremely challenging” reality of exiting Russia.
“This meant reducing the quantities [of brands] being sold to avoid ‘intentional bankruptcy’, which is a criminal offence in Russia and represents a significant risk for our employees,” the company said.
“We also fully understand and acknowledge the reaction over the recent days as we sought to give context to the decisions we have taken. Many companies, in our industry and in others, have made the same difficult choice.
“We are working hard to find the best way to navigate this complexity, including stopping the export of our international brands while ensuring the welfare and safety of our team, considering the local legal constraints.”
Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1′s This Week programme, Ms Gerasko said she tried to contact Jameson in recent weeks to express their concern but “no one got back to us”.
“On the one hand this company wants to protect a few employees, but at the same time tens of thousands of Ukrainians, every single day, have been killed by Russia,” she said.
“We pay the highest price, by human life, and of course we call on all companies to stop any trade relationship with the aggressor state, with the terrorist state.”
Ms Gerasko said if Jameson wanted to protect its employees it would be better to move them to safer countries such as France or Ireland.
She said when Swedish farmers stopped supplying grain to Pernod Ricard for the manufacture of Absolut vodka, the company reversed its decision to trade in Russia.
Ms Gerasko said that by trading with Russia, companies were financing the Russian war machine.
Pernod Ricard previously ceased exporting products to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, however had later resumed exports, a decision recently criticised by campaigners.
On Thursday, the group Ukrainian Action Ireland held a protest outside of the Pernod Ricard offices on Simmonscourt Road, in Ballsbridge, Dublin, over its continued trade with Russia.
