It said there should be no doubt of a response if Ireland continues its “destructive line” towards Russia.
The Russian Embassy in Ireland has warned that Moscow is determined to respond to any “hostile steps” by the Irish Government.
It made the comments in a statement after two Irish diplomats were asked to leave the Irish Embassy in Moscow on Thursday (7 April).
Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said there was no justification for the taking of this measure by Russia.
The move followed four senior officials attached to the Russian Embassy in Dublin being asked to leave the country in March.
Coveney said the expulsion was because the diplomats’ activities had “not been in accordance with international standards of diplomatic behaviour”, an explanation the Russian Embassy rejected, calling it “an arbitrary, groundless decision”.
In a new statement issued on Friday, the Russian Embassy said that there should be no doubt that Moscow will respond proportionally if the Irish Government continues its “destructive line” towards Russia.
#Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia on the summoning of the Ambassador of Ireland Brian McElduff
🔗https://t.co/sAdL021VCP pic.twitter.com/7icoSg6K7S— Russia in Ireland (@Rus_Emb_Ireland) April 8, 2022
The statement in full reads:
“On April 7, 2022, the Ambassador of Ireland in Moscow Brian McElduff was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
“Resolute protest has been lodged in relation to the unfriendly and groundless steps by the Irish authorities, undertaken in March, which demanded the departure of four employees of the Embassy of Russia in Dublin.
“The Ambassador was informed about appropriate reciprocal measures with respect to a number of diplomats, working at the Embassy of Ireland in Moscow.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called upon the Irish authorities, in accordance with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, to immediately remove any obstacles to the work of the Embassy of Russia in Dublin and ensure normal conditions for the functioning of the Russian diplomatic mission.
“It has been also emphasised that if the Government of Ireland is to continue its destructive line towards Russia, there should not be the slightest doubt in Dublin about Moscow’s determination to respond proportionally to any hostile steps.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a number of protests have taken place outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin.
Last month, a truck reversed into its gates, breaking them in the process.
Main image via Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
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