The Tánaiste has said the Government is "not at the point yet" on deciding whether Irish peacekeepers will have a role in Ukraine.
Speaking on his way into this morning's Cabinet meeting, Simon Harris said that Irish rules around peacekeeping are very clear, and it is a process that involves the United Nations, Government and the Oireachtas.
"Our Defence Forces have a very proud tradition of playing majorly important peacekeeping roles in very troubled and challenging parts of the globe … But we’re not at that moment yet," the Minister for Defence said.
"While lots of people are talking about bringing peace to Ukraine, we’re still seeing [Vladimir] Putin engage in acts of aggression and acts of sabotage on a daily basis on Ukraine … so the most important thing right now is to stop the war, but to stop the war in a way that is consistent with the UN charter, with the territorial independence of Ukraine," he added.
Mr Harris will also attend a virtual meeting of the European People’s Party to get a briefing from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden.
It follows her meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris yesterday over the war in Ukraine and Europe's role in peace talks.
The Paris summit was called after US President Donald Trump arranged bilateral peace talks with Russia, excluding European allies and Ukraine from negotiations to end the war that are under way in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Harris said: "The Irish Government’s position remains consistent, there can be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nor can there be anything about Europe or European security without Europe in the room as well.
"Everybody wants to see peace and everyone wants to see an end to the war but how that peace is brought about matters - respecting people’s territorial integrity, the sovereignty of a country and indeed the UN charter is crucially important."
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has said that Europe "will have to be" at peace talks when it comes to Ukraine.
"A peace agreement will not work without European participation at some degree," Micheál Martin said when arriving to the Cabinet meeting.
"The fundamental point in any peace deal is that it has to be sustainable, and has to be durable. For that to happen, there has to be very significant security guarantees to Ukraine," he said.
Mr Martin said that there is "some distance" to go before any peace deal emerges but that European states are worried in terms of the direction of travel.
"That said, everybody wants this war to end," he added.
Non-lethal military support to Ukraine
Mr Harris will outline to the Cabinet how he intends to ensure €50 million in non-lethal military support can be given to Ukraine despite a Hungarian veto at EU level.
He will explain how Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is holding up an EU Ukraine Assistance Fund, which is preventing Ireland from fulfilling commitments to provide €250m in non-lethal military support to Ukraine.
The Cabinet will be told that early next month, Mr Harris will bring forward a proposal to approve up to €50m worth of support to Ukraine under what is termed the European Peace Facility mechanism.
He will also tell the Cabinet that there is a need to issue a strong statement of solidarity on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which falls next Monday.
To date, Ireland has paid out more than €130m in stabilisation and humanitarian support since the war began and welcomed 110,000 displaced Ukrainian nationals.
The Tánaiste also said he is going to brief the Cabinet on Ireland's participation in the G20 this week in South Africa.
He said that this is the first time in the history of the G20 that Ireland has been invited as a guest nation.
"I think it’s a really important opportunity for Ireland to engage with countries across the globe on things like economics, trade and of course to have an opportunity to discuss pressing global issues like Ukraine," Mr Harris said.
Govt 'edging towards ending Irish neutrality' - Boyd Barrett
Solidarity-People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has said he believes any talk of whether Irish peacekeepers will have a role in Ukraine in the future is "another example of Government trying to edge" Ireland towards ending "Irish neutrality".
Speaking to reporters at Leinster House today, Deputy Boyd Barrett said "the Irish Government should not bend the knee" on the issue.
He said while everyone would "welcome peace in Ukraine" if it occurs, there is also a need in his view to keep in mind who is pushing for an increased focus on defence, saying US president Donald Trump is one of those doing so and he is not "benign".
Additional reporting Paul Cunningham and Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
