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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Ireland's former Minister for Foreign Affairs and sitting Laois Offaly TD Charlie Flanagan says it’s time to expel the Russian ambassador to Ireland as the war in Ukraine rumbles on.
The Government TD who is also a former Minister for Justice took to social media to express his view that the time is up for the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov.
“He has zero credibility & should be formally asked to leave Ireland,” said Dep Flanagan.
The comment from the TD was linked to an article about a statement published by the Russian ambassador for the annual International Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration.
Dep Flanagan, who is Chair of the Dáil Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, has been a vocal Irish opponent of Russia and previously called for Vladimir Putin to be charged with war crimes.
In November 2022, the Fine Gael TD and other members of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence demanded that officials at the Russian Embassy in Ireland be expelled after Irish diplomats were thrown out of Moscow.
Time is up for the Russian ambassador to Ireland. He has zero credibility & should be formally asked to leave Ireland. https://t.co/ylu5DTEn9m
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) January 30, 2023
In his statement, Mr Filatof accuses Ireland of supporting what he called an “ultranationalist, neo-Nazi regime” in Ukraine. He also wrongly claimed Ireland's Taoiseach had sent happy birthday wishes to Hitler in April 1945.
The Russian embassy has since issued a correction.
“The Embassy apologizes for the unintended error in the remarks, referring to the Taoiseach Eamon de Valera communication with the German government in April of 1945. In fact, indeed, the text of the remarks should read as follows:
“…with the Taoiseach of the time expressing his condolences on the death of Adolf Hitler in April of 1945…”
This technical error does not change in any way the overall point of the remarks, they said.
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