No preparatory meeting before Taoiseach's call with Russian pranksters

Leo Varadkar was one of the world leaders to have been stung by two Russian pranksters in a fake diplomatic call with an African Union diplomat

In December, it was revealed that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was one of the world leaders to have been stung by two Russian pranksters - Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov – in a fake diplomatic call with an African Union diplomat.

The Taoiseach’s office refused to allow the Irish embassy in Ethiopia to hold a preparatory meeting with a purported African diplomat, which later turned out to be two Russian pranksters.

The information has emerged in documents released to the Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information.