Ireland halts issuances of Russian diplomatic visas due to espionage concerns
February 18, 2024 2 Comments
AUTHORITIES IN IRELAND ARE systematically “freezing” applications for Russian diplomatic visas from Moscow over concerns that the Kremlin is using its embassy in Dublin as a base for espionage activities. In 2018, the Irish government introduced emergency legislation that canceled a previously approved expansion of the Russian diplomatic compound in the Irish capital, allegedly due to concerns about espionage activities by Russian diplomats. Three years later, reports emerged that Irish government officials were concerned about the expanding size of Russia’s diplomatic presence in Dublin.
In April 2022, Ireland expelled four Russian diplomats, which it claimed were undercover intelligence officers. A subsequent report by the London-based Times newspaper alleged that a major reason Dublin had expelled the diplomats was their “efforts to cultivate contacts with dissident republicans and loyalist paramilitaries” in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, which is British soil. The report added that at least one of the four expelled Russian diplomats was believed to be an intelligence officer for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces —widely known by its Cold War-era initials, GRU.
On February 10, The Irish Times alleged that the Irish government was “refusing to allow Russia to replace diplomats assigned to its Dublin embassy […] due to concerns over espionage”. The article went on to claim that Russia’s diplomatic presence in Ireland had “dropped by half” and was causing a “tense standoff” between Ireland and Russia. It also quoted a spokesman from the Russian embassy in Dublin, who decried Ireland’s “unacceptable visa and accreditation policy”. The Russians told the paper that their embassy was staffed by just eight administrative staff and six diplomats.
On February 17, The Irish Times said it had corroborated the Russian officials’ claims by speaking with Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Martin was approached by the newspaper’s reporters in Germany, where he attended the Minich Security Conference. Martin told The Irish Times that the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs was carefully “scrutinizing” every new application for a diplomatic visa by the Russian government. The reason for the careful scrutiny, said Martin, was a number of advisories issued by Ireland’s intelligence services, suggesting “that other activities were underway” at the Russian embassy and that some embassy staff “were not actually diplomats but were performing intelligence functions”. Martin added that the Irish government had determined “15 diplomats should be adequate for [Russia’s] needs” in Ireland.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 18 February 2024 | Permalink
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