Tánaiste speaks to US secretary about 'deeply upsetting and unsettling' scenes from Oval Office

On Tuesday, Mr Harris spoke with Mr Rubio on the phone marking the first time someone in Government has spoken with someone from the new Trump administration.

Tánaiste Simon Harris spoke about the "deeply upsetting and unsettling" scenes from the Oval Office last week during his first conversation with US secretary of state Marco Rubio.

On Tuesday, Mr Harris spoke with Mr Rubio on the phone marking the first time someone in Government has spoken with someone from the new Trump administration.

The conversation was described as engaging and took in the issues dominating the news ahead of Taoiseach Micheál Martin's St Patrick's Day trip to the White House including Ukraine, Gaza, tariffs and the future relationship between the two countries.

Mr Rubio assured that US president Donald Trump wants to see peace in Ukraine following a tense meeting between Mr Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

"We all want to see peace. No one wants to see peace more than the people of Ukraine but I would have made the point constructively that how we bring about peace matters," Mr Harris said on RTÉ's Six One News.

"He did leave me in no doubt that the plan here, from a US point of view, is to try and get people around a negotiating table.

"That is good once Ukraine is at the table," Mr Harris said, referring to Mr Rubio holding negotiation talks with Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia without any Ukrainian involvement.

Now, Mr Harris said there is a clear appreciation on Mr Rubio's part that Ukraine must be involved in any negotiations to end the war.

"The most important thing now is, as deeply unsettling as the scenes were in recent days, we have to try and move forward," the foreign affairs minister said.

Mr Trump's threat to hit the EU with 25% tariffs was also discussed and although trade does not fall under Mr Rubio's remit, Mr Harris said he has an appreciation of the economic relationship that exists between the US and Ireland.

"It is perfectly appropriate for any new government to want to examine its economic policies but we do need to do that in a way that protects the transatlantic trade relationship which is really important and I felt the secretary of state had an appreciation of that," said Mr Harris.

The two men have agreed to meet in person in the near future to continue their discussions.