Coveney has 'full confidence' in Defence Forces boss after Russian ambassador meeting

Mr Coveney had said that he was “surprised, to put it mildly” at Lieutenant General Seán Clancy’s meeting with Yury Filatov

Sinn Féin's Foreign Affairs spokesperson John Brady told the Dáil the the comments of the the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney (pictured) showed "poor judgement". File photo

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney has told the Dáil he has "no hesitation" in supporting the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces after he met with the Russian ambassador.

Last night, Mr Coveney told a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party that he was “surprised, to put it mildly” at Lieutenant General Seán Clancy’s meeting with Yury Filatov. The meeting heard that Lieutenant General Clancy said the photo-op was part of a round of engagements with diplomats.