Ireland continues to stand with Ukraine, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said, but he rejected president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claim that “the time has come [for] armed forces of Europe”.
Speaking on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, Mr Martin said “a European army isn’t on the agenda in that sense”.
“What Ukraine requires is security guarantees in the event of Russia trying to invade again in a few years’ time if there was an imperfect peace,” he said, adding that Ireland supported efforts to expedite Ukraine’s EU accession.
A planned meeting with Mr Zelenskiy was cancelled at the last minute. France is to host an emergency summit of EU leaders on Ukraine on Monday in Paris.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said it was crucial that the EU is part of talks to “decide the parameters for peace” in Ukraine, but declined to say if Ireland would contribute peacekeepers if asked.
“We are not in a space of even having that sense of a conversation yet,” he said. “But what happens on our continent very much matters for our own future.”
Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg on Saturday said Europe will be consulted – but ultimately excluded – from the planned peace talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine.
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste said Ireland was already working towards increasing its defence and security capabilities with a plan to increase spending to €1.5 billion by 2028.
“I think people do get it, the necessity to enhance our capabilities,” said Mr Martin, pointing to investment in radar, cybersecurity and evolving safety strategies for subsea cables. “But there will always be limits to what a small country like Ireland can do. We are not a military nation or power and will not be.”
Mr Zelenskiy told Munich delegates he doubted that the US still views – or needs – Europe as a security ally and that Europe needs “a single voice, not a dozen” on security and defence.
A European army including Ukraine was, he argued, the best guarantee that continent’s “future depends only on Europeans – and decisions about Europeans are made in Europe”.
Mr Harris conceded Ireland was “not where we need to be” on defence and security and promised a “significant” increase during the term of this Government on defence infrastructure and personnel.
[ Europe will not be part of Ukraine-Russia peace talks, Trump envoy saysOpens in new window ]
Commitments in the programme for government, he said, reflected growing public awareness of Europe’s changed security situation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
“Sometimes when a debate happens in Europe on defence there seems to be a view that this is nothing to do with us,” he said. “That is, in the modern day, an ill-informed view. You can be militarily neutral and still spend more on defence and security.”
The Tánaiste had bilateral meetings with the foreign affairs ministers of Ukraine, Iceland and Egypt. He was “very encouraged” by progress by Egyptian and Palestinian officials in advancing plans for the reconstruction, governance and security of Gaza and called for this to gain broad, global buy-in.
“Anything that involves involuntary displacement of the people of Palestine isn’t a viable plan,” said Mr Harris. “Egypt is working on a plan that allows people return to their homes see them ereconstructed in structured manner.”
After a meeting with Palestine’s prime minister Mohammad Mustafa, the Taoiseach confirmed that trucks with Irish-funded food and emergency will reach Gaza this week with assistance from Jordan.
In meetings with US senators, the Tánaiste made sure to clarify Ireland’s position on Israel and Gaza as “not being pro any country”.
“Often our position can be distorted or misrepresented,” he said. “Ireland is pro international law, pro human rights and pro two-state solution.”
