Charlie Flanagan calls for expulsion of Russian ambassador over ‘Nazi ideology’ claims

Yuriy Filatov took issue with Tánaiste’s comments in Oireachtas about Ukrainian values being ‘EU values’

Former minister for foreign affairs Charlie Flanagan has called for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador over remarks he made about Ireland’s support for Ukraine.

Yuriy Filatov stated that Ireland’s backing of Ukraine amounted to support for a “Nazi ideology”. It is the latest in a string of controversial comments he has made since the war began over a year ago.

Mr Flanagan, chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, described Mr Filatov’s comments as “deplorable and unacceptable”.

“He should be asked to leave the State,” he said.

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Though there have been many calls for the expulsion of the Russian ambassador since the beginning of the war, the Government has said that it would only take such a drastic move in conjunction with other EU states.

Mr Filatov made his claims on the Russian embassy’s Telegram page.

He was responding to comments made by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin who told the Foreign Affairs committee last week: “Ukraine’s values are EU values, Ukraine’s interests are EU interests, Ukraine’s security is the EU’s security.”

Mr Filatov said that since the Maidan revolution of 2014 successive Ukrainian governments have been in thrall to “ultranationalist” neo-Nazis who have targeted the country’s Russian-speaking population.

Mr Filatov did not mention in his article that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy is Jewish or that far-right parties got just 2 per cent of the vote in the 2019 Ukrainian elections.

The ambassador went on to claim the Ukrainian Government used neo-Nazi organised paramilitary groups to target Russian speakers.

“In a totalitarian fashion it took control over national mass media, banned all opposition political parties and enforced total Ukrainianization of society, including administration, education, culture and service sectors,” he wrote.

‘National hero’

He also claimed that the assassinated Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera collaborated with Nazis in the extermination of Jews, Poles and Russians but is a “supreme national hero, openly praised by the state authorities”.

Mr Filatov concluded: “Against such a background the only possible conclusion from the Tánaiste’s remarks is obvious – the western political establishment, including the Irish politicians, associates itself with the remnants of Nazi ideology in an open attempt to use Ukraine’s notorious regime against Russia. So much for European ‘democratic values’.”

The ambassador last month apologised for suggesting that Éamon de Valera sent a congratulations telegram to Adolf Hitler in 1945 on his birthday. In fact, Mr de Valera made a courtesy visit to the German ambassador following Hitler’s death.

In response to Mr Filatov’s comments, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said: “Ireland, and the EU are resolute in its support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s immoral, illegal and unjustified invasion.

“As the Tánaiste stated, we stand with Ukraine, for European values, and for the humanitarian effort in aid of its people.”

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy

Ronan McGreevy is a news reporter with The Irish Times