Other Russian diplomats and operatives may be removed, however.
Simon Coveney has said that it would “not be wise” to expel Yury Anatoliyevich Filatov, the Russian ambassador to Ireland.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs answered questions about the possible expulsion on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Monday (28 February).
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“I can totally understand the anger and the sentiment behind that,” Coveney said.
“So many people have texted me to say ‘for God’s sake, why aren’t you expelling the Russian ambassador and the rest of his team?’
“My job as a foreign minister is to try and think ahead here.
“We are going to have Irish citizens, hundreds of them, living and working in Russia.
“We have many Irish citizens still in Ukraine too.
“I need to make sure we have lines of communication open so that I can help those people and do my job.
“Even if you fundamentally disagree with someone, as we do with Russia right now, and you’re trying to hold them to account as we are trying right now, you still need to keep lines of communication open.
“Does that mean that we won’t be expelling some Russian diplomats and some operatives that are not diplomats in the next few days? No, it doesn’t, we may well do that.
“I don’t think it’s wise for us to expel the Russian ambassador and to have no Russian presence in Ireland to allow us to have a direct line with Moscow and let them know what the Irish view very directly is in terms of Russian actions,” he added.
No other country in the EU has expelled their Russian ambassador as of Monday, but Coveney indicated that targeted expulsions including the staff of ambassadors could send a message to the Kremlin.
Filatov came under fire following an attempt to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a tense interview on RTÉ’s Six One News on Friday (25 February).
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