Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and a number of senior politicians have been banned from Russia as the Kremlin criticised Ireland for standing up for the people of Ukraine.
Some 52 members of the Irish parliament were banned from entering the country because of the “anti-Russian course of the Irish government”.
Rumours were rife in Leinster House on Wednesday about who the barred politicians may be, as a number of TDs and Senators told the Irish Mirror that they “hoped” they were on Vladimir Putin’s list.
READ MORE: T aoiseach responds in Dáil as Russia puts him and other Irish politicians on 'stop list' and blast Government over Ukraine stance
However, the ban did not seem to worry any of the politicians as they insisted that their support for Ukraine would not waiver.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “In response to the anti-Russian course of the Irish government, which unconditionally supports the unilateral restrictive measures introduced by the European Union against Russian citizens aimed at attempts to isolate our country internationally, a decision was made to include 52 key representatives of the leadership and politicians of Ireland in the Russian stop-list.
“The list of Irish citizens no longer allowed to enter the Russian Federation includes, in particular, Prime Minister Micheál Martin, his deputy Leo Varadkar, Chair of the Dail (lower house of parliament) Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Simon Coveney, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, Minister of Finance Paschal Donohoe, as well as a number of senators and deputies of the lower house of parliament.”
The full list was not published by the Kremlin, with the Russian Embassy in Ireland not responding to requests for queries.
A spokesman said that they would issue information “in due course”.
A number of senior Government sources also said that they had not seen the list and were unsure if it had been shared in full.
Speaking from outside Government Buildings on Wednesday evening, Mr Varadkar said: “I heard the news today that I’ve been sanctioned, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been sanctioned by a government before, but I know the reason why it is.
“And that’s because I’m a member of a government and a citizen of a country that is standing four-square behind Ukraine.
“Russia is the aggressor here and Ukraine is the victim and I’m proud of the fact that we as a country are standing behind Ukraine.”
He added: “I think this is a time for cool heads.”
The Taoiseach, meanwhile, tweeted: “I will make no apology for speaking the truth about Russia’s immoral and illegal war. We stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Justice Minister Helen McEntee, who appears on the list of politicians banned from Russia, said that she stands by any comments she has made about Russia.
“I stand behind anything that I've said in relation to Russia and the ongoing barbaric and illegal war that's being waged on Ukraine,” she said.
“Like my colleagues, I stand fully behind the people of Ukraine.
“Whatever comes with that, the decision by the Russian Government, that is their decision.
“It certainly will not change my view and my position and the fact that we need to support Ukraine and all of their citizens in any way that we can.”
The list has been a talking point in Leinster House, as other TDs and Senators question who is on the full list of 52 banned politicians.
A number have joked that they “hope they are on it” as they told The Mirror about the things they have said about Russia and the war in Ukraine.
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