Irish PM planning to visit Ukraine in coming weeks
At a press briefing which followed a meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Shannon Airport on July 13, Prime Minister of Ireland Simon Harris confirmed that he has accepted an official invitation to visit Kyiv and Ukraine and hopes to make the visit in the coming weeks, The Irish Times reported.
He also told a press briefing at the airport that he had "a very good meeting" with President Zelenskyy.
"I'm very pleased to welcome him to Ireland. It gave me an opportunity to express the condolences of the people of Ireland to the people of Ukraine, to the president of Ukraine, for the loss of life during this brutal and illegal war of Russian aggression," Harris said.
The Taoiseach said that he was "absolutely horrified" by Russia abducting Ukrainian children.
"I don't believe the world knows enough about this. […] Russia is actively stealing children from Ukraine – it is taking young babies and children from the clutches of their parents and it is bringing them to temporary occupied territories or to Russia," he said.
Asked did Zelenskyy express any concern over the Irish Government recently reducing support payments to Ukrainians living here, Harris said that the issue did not come up.
"Had it come up, I would have simply made the point that it is very important that we move from an emergency response to a more sustainable model. We have made the changes we have made because we want to be in a position to continue to support those who need our support for as long as it takes. I think by any fair, objective view, the changes we have made very much keep Ireland in line with best practice in other European countries," he said.
In addition, Harris said that everyone wants to get to situation where the war ends and the people of Ukraine can return home.
"The people of Ukraine are welcome here as long as it takes," he said.
The Taoiseach also said Ireland wants "Ukraine to be a member of the EU and should that happen, people from Ukraine would have the same freedom of movement that every other EU citizen has too."
