Tánaiste speaks to Marco Rubio about 'vital importance' of defending Ukraine

LAST UPDATE | 5 hrs ago

TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has spoken with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with the Irish government’s St Patrick’s Day visits across America.

Harris, who is Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, said he told his counterpart Rubio of the “vital importance” of defending Ukraine from Russia.

The meeting comes as the government signs off on an package of €100 million for “non-lethal military support” for Ukraine.

“I emphasised the vital importance for Ireland and our European partners of defending Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Harris said.

Expanding on the details of the conversation on RTÉ’s Six One this evening, Harris said last Friday’s extraordinary scenes between Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office – for which Rubio was present – came up during the call.

On this, Harris said he told Rubio that they were “deeply unsettling and upsetting” but said that he believes Rubio thinks Ukraine should be “in the room” where any peace deal is hammered out.

“Deeply unsettling as the scenes were in recent days, we have to move forward,” Harris told the programme.

They also discussed the Middle East, with the Fine Gael leader saying he “thanked the US for its intensive engagement” on the Israel-Palestine ceasefire negotiations

Harris said he “noted the essential need for humanitarian aid to flow to civilians in Gaza and for all hostages to be released”, according to a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

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As part of the Irish government’s lobbying effort with the Trump administration, Harris also sought to remind Rubio and the US government of Ireland’s status as the sixth largest investor in the United States.

“I took the opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment and we agreed on the strength of our bilateral relationship, rooted in the more than 30 million Americans who proudly claim Irish heritage,” Harris said.

“I thanked the Secretary of State on behalf of the people of Ireland for the bipartisan support that the United States has always offered in support of peace and prosperity on our island.

“We agreed on the mutually beneficial nature of the dynamic US-Ireland relationship today, which we look forward to celebrating across the United States during our St Patrick’s Day programmes.”

Today’s phone call between Harris and Rubio follows Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying last night’s suspension of military aid was a “very serious setback” to Ukraine.

Speaking outside Government Buildings today, Martin said there “has to be continued engagement from everybody” to resolve the war.

“I have no doubt that European leaders, to be doing everything we possibly can to continue our engagement with the United States government with a view to identify a pathway forward that protects Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Martin told reporters.

US President Donald Trump suspended aid to Ukraine yesterday. It followed a “blow-up” in the Oval Office with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy.

The two leaders were expected to discuss an potential minerals deal as Trump moves towards a swift end to the fighting. The public meeting escalated and Zelenskyy left the White House without reaching an agreement with the US President.

The matter is also expected to form part of Micheál Martin’s forthcoming bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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Martin also added that he expects “significant proposals” from the European Commission for further aid for Ukraine this week.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans today to incentivise EU member states to “massively boost” military capability. In total, the Commission President said the new plan could see “close to €800 billion” being spent across the block.

Martin added: “We really haven’t had an indication from Russia as to whether it is up for a durable, sustainable peace. But, in any event, I think Europe will not stop in endeavouring to move this forward in a more positive light than currently is the situation.”

But he warned that it “will not be easy” to resolve.

“It’s been three years on now, this war, it has exacted a very heavy toll on a lot of people, and particularly on the people of Ukraine, who have shown extraordinary resilience, extraordinary courage in terms of meeting an illegal invasion,” Martin said.

“Europe is very conscious, also, of the fact that there are many other states across Europe who fear Russian aggression and Russian ambition, and those countries see this as an existential threat to their sovereignty.”

With reporting from Eoghan Dalton and PA

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