Two diplomats expelled from Irish Embassy in Moscow

The DFA confirmed the move in a statement this evening, calling it without justification. Picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Two Irish diplomats have been expelled from the embassy in Moscow in retaliation for Ireland's decision to expel Russian diplomats last month.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed the move in a statement this evening, calling it without justification.

"The Ambassador of Ireland to the Russian Federation was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow this afternoon and informed that two diplomats from our Embassy in Moscow have been asked to leave.

"There is no justification for the taking of this measure. The staff at the Embassy of Ireland in Moscow do not have, nor are engaged in, any duties or functions which are incompatible with their diplomatic status.

"This decision to reduce the size of our relatively small Embassy in Moscow will significantly reduce our ability to provide services to our citizens in Russia and to maintain diplomatic channels of communication with the Russian Federation."

Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney summoned the Russian ambassador to advise him that four diplomats had been asked to leave because their activities "have not been in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour."

The DFA last month said that it and the Irish Government continues to believe that "diplomatic channels between Ireland and the Russian Federation should remain open."

"This is in the interests of our citizens as well as to ensure that we can continue to have a diplomatic channel of communication between Ireland and the Russian Federation in the future," a spokesperson for the DFA said.

"This channel of communication has been important in the context of conveying our strong views on the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, which we regard as a serious breach of international law.”