French ambassador: Distance will not protect Ireland from Russia's war

Distance 'no longer relevant' in a world where rockets can travel 600km, warns French ambassador to Ireland

French Ambassador to Ireland Vincent Guérend says the actions of Russia in Ukraine pose a 'major threat' to the EU. Picture: Jim Coughlan

As an ambassador of a country on the western fringe of Europe, Vincent Guérend says distance from the war in Ukraine does not protect France — or any other Western European country, such as Ireland — from threats in Eastern Europe or elsewhere in the world.

“I would say that now, in this globalised world with so much interdependencies, distance is no longer relevant," he said.