Micheál, Taoiseach,
Everyone present, dear journalists,
First of all, I thank Ireland for its unwavering support for our people, support for Ukraine, and support for our defense. We have always received Ireland’s full understanding of what is happening in Ukraine and, most importantly, of how unjust Russia’s aggression is – against all of us, against Ukraine and against normal, peaceful life in Europe. Today, I briefed the Taoiseach on the situation in our country, on what is happening on the front line and how difficult it is for us to restore our infrastructure after Russian strikes. I am grateful for Ireland’s readiness to help Ukraine and for the support packages it provides. All these packages truly matter. We agreed that Ireland will take part in the Shelter Coalition. We discussed this issue today under the leadership of our Finnish friends, and tomorrow we’ll also be discussing it in detail with our other partners. Thank you very much for this support.
Today, we also discussed the details of our Drone Deal. The priority is naval drones and security at sea. We are ready to help with this. We are ready for joint production with Ireland. We expect the Drone Deal with Ireland to get underway.
We also discussed diplomacy. Today and yesterday in Abu Dhabi, our team met with the American and European sides. The first positive thing, in my view, I’d like to point out is that there were representatives of Europe there. This is very important because this war is in Ukraine, this war is in Europe, and ending this war without Europe’s participation would be unfair and, honestly, impossible. There were also representatives of Europe – the E4 format – as well as the representatives of the European Commission and NATO. President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, will be in Russia tomorrow for negotiations, and we count on meeting with them right here in Ireland, in Dublin, at the end of the day tomorrow. Thank you very much, Micheál, for this opportunity. We will meet them to continue the conversation. It is very important that Ireland – a country with strong respect for European values and the value of human life – is at the center of all these discussions aimed at achieving peace. And I am grateful that everything has been organized so well here.
Tomorrow, there will also be a summit, which the Taoiseach has already mentioned – a European Political Community Summit – many leaders, many meetings. It’s very important that we come away with a lot of decisions. Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union this half-year, and everything we have agreed on with Ireland is being carried out as planned. We truly appreciate this. Of course, we are also having substantive discussions about the tasks ahead on our path to the European Union and our progress in European integration. We must open all negotiating clusters this year. This is a very important result. And we must begin our next steps. And we in Ukraine will do everything to make this possible. We count on the support of all our partners in Europe, and Ireland supports us in this. Thank you very much for that.
I also want to highlight Europe’s work on sanctions. Sanctions are truly necessary. And we cannot stop here. We cannot let up until Russia stops. This applies both to individual sanctions against Russian entities working for Putin and his system, and to businesses through which Russia obtains scarce components, equipment, and machine tools to produce weapons – including ballistic missiles, attack drones, and communications systems. We ask all our partners in Europe and around the world to focus on this. We must restrict Russia’s weapons production, and this is one of the best ways to push Russia toward a real dialogue and real steps toward peace. Our Ukrainian long-range sanctions are working. Russian weapons production facilities are within range of our long-range capabilities. And the main thing is to ensure that our partners support these efforts – legally, economically, and politically. I thank everyone in Europe who is working to strengthen sanctions.
We certainly spoke at length today about how to strengthen Ukraine ahead of the challenges and the winter. And we will share the details. Just as we worked yesterday, in detail, with the Nordic countries, with our partners, on this package to strengthen Ukraine – winter package – we will share all the details with the Irish side as well. Thank you again for your support.
Thank you.
