Russian naval exercises to be moved away from Irish coast

The Ambassador of Russia to Ireland said the decision to move the exercises is "a gesture of goodwill".

It has been announced that the much-discussed Russian naval exercises planned to take place off the Irish coast are to be moved. Posting on Twitter on Saturday (29 January), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence Simon Coveney said that this week he wrote to his counterpart, Minister of Defence of Russia Sergey Shoigu, to request that Russia reconsiders its plan to perform the military exercises within Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). "This evening I received a letter confirming the Russian exercises will be relocated outside of Ireland’s EEZ," he said, adding that he welcomed the response. https://twitter.com/simoncoveney/status/1487472323456385036 It emerged earlier this month that Russia had planned on holding the naval exercises 240 kilometres off the southwest coast of Ireland in the first week of February. The announcement had sparked controversy with both Coveney and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar stating that the exercises were not welcome. Meanwhile, a group of Irish fishers had announced plans to peacefully disrupt the exercises. Ambassador of Russia to Ireland Yuriy Filatov confirmed Russia's decision to change their plans. His statement read: "In response to the requests from the Irish Government, as well as from the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation, the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoigu has made a decision, as a gesture of goodwill, to relocate the exercises by the Russian Navy, planned for 3 - 8 February outside the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with the aim not to hinder fishing activities by the Irish vessels in the traditional fishing areas." https://twitter.com/Rus_Emb_Ireland/status/1487485055685513217 Main image via Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie