The Tánaiste has condemned an attack yesterday by a protester at the Russian embassy in Dublin and has appealed to people to protest peacefully.
Leo Varadkar said that while the person behind it might have had strong feelings it was "not helpful at all" and could now be represented on Russian TV as "Irish people being involved in violent acts against Russians".
'It was a foolish and unhelpful act', Tánaiste @LeoVaradkar says after a truck was driven through the gates of the Russian Embassy. He said the incident could be represented on Russian TV as "Irish people being involved in violent acts against Russians" | https://t.co/Ln1zOGt9EL pic.twitter.com/7iCqCHLz48
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 8, 2022
"It was a foolish and unhelpful act in that regard," he said.
Mr Varadkar also said that Ireland has obligations under the Vienna Convention to protect diplomats.
He added that gardaí are in contact with the Russian embassy to ensure something like this does not occur again.
Last week, Russian ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov alleged that death threats had been made against embassy staff at their home addresses.
In an interview on Russian television, Mr Filatov said that protests outside of the Dublin embassy had become violent and that staff had made reports to gardaí.
The ambassador described Ireland as being at the forefront of anti-Russian measures in Europe.
He also claimed that Russian children are being bullied in Irish schools.
