The Irish Times reports that the Irish government is refusing to allow the Russian government to replace its diplomat in Dublin amid growing concerns about espionage.
The size of Russia’s diplomatic presence has long been a concern for Irish security services, who suspect Russia is using it as a cover for espionage operations.
Although Russia had limited diplomatic relations with the Irish government and a relatively small diaspora in the country before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it had one of its largest diplomatic missions in Dublin. I kept one.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of accredited diplomats and administrative staff at the Russian embassy in Dublin has been reduced from 30 to 14.
In March 2022, four diplomats were expelled from Ireland after the city of Dublin claimed their activities were “not in accordance with international standards of diplomatic conduct”.
Additionally, two Russian defense attachés who normally work closely with or report directly to Russian intelligence also left the country.
A spokesperson for the Russian embassy condemned Dublin’s “unacceptable visa and recognition policies”.
“As a result, a number of our employees significantly exceeded their working conditions in Ireland and subsequently had to return to Russia without replacements for personal reasons,” the spokesperson said.
Other interesting topics
UN panel calls on Russia to end ‘forced deportations’ of Ukrainian children
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin on charges of war crimes for illegally deporting Ukrainian children.
Ireland’s Foreign Office confirmed that the number of accredited staff at the Russian embassy in Dublin had fallen significantly, but declined to comment on visa-related issues.
However, diplomatic sources said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stopped issuing new visas to Russian embassy staff since last year due to tensions between the two countries.
Edward Burke, a security expert at University College Dublin, said the decline in Russian diplomats in Ireland was due to increased scrutiny by local security services after the invasion of Ukraine, and mirrored declines in other EU countries. said.
“They know that embassies are under greater scrutiny, so embassies are turning to other means of operation,” Dr. Burke said, adding that intelligence operations by the Russian government have targeted both Russians and foreigners. is being increasingly used, he added. For example, five Bulgarians who spied for Russia in Britain.