“It was a foolish and unhelpful act.”
Leo Varadkar has condemned the damage caused by a communion supply lorry at the Russian Embassy to Ireland on Monday (7 March).
The Tanáiste spoke about the incident on Tuesday morning (8 March).
“First of all, I want to condemn the attack that occurred at the Russian Embassy the other day,” Varadkar said.
“It may be the case that the person behind it has strong feelings on this issue, but it was not helpful at all.”
Varadkar said that the Irish Government had obligations under the Vienna conventions to protect diplomats that live in Ireland.
“That will now be misrepresented in Russian state TV as Irish people being involved with violent acts against Russians, so it was a foolish and unhelpful act in that regard.
“I would say to anyone being involved in the protest, please do protest, we want you to do that, but peaceful protests.
“No violence, no criminal damage, and of course, the Gardaí and the Department of Foreign Affairs have been in contact with the Russian Embassy and are reviewing security to ensure something like that won’t happen again,” he concluded.
The Russian Embassy accused Gardaí of standing “idle” while the truck crashed through the Embassy gates on Orwell Road in Dublin.
“The Embassy strongly condemns this criminal act of insanity directed against peaceful diplomatic mission,” the Embassy said in a statement.
“The Embassy views this incident as a clear and blatant violation of the Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations of 1961.
“The Embassy is in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, demanding that the Irish authorities take comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of its staff and their family members.
“The incident is cause of extreme concern. We believe that no people of sound mind could support such senseless and barbaric actions.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
