Russian warning after Irish diplomats expelled

Taoiseach Micheál Martin met Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Friday

Russia's Embassy in Dublin has said Moscow is "determined" to respond to any "hostile steps" by Ireland following the expulsion of four of its diplomats last month.

On Thursday, two Irish diplomats were asked to leave the Irish Embassy in Moscow.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the expulsion of the two Irish diplomats was "completely unjustified", RTÉ reports.

He was speaking in Helsinki where he held discussions with both the president and prime minister of Finland.

Mr Martin also travelled to Estonia where he met Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

In a statement,  the Russian Embassy in Dublin said: "On 7 April, 2022, the Ambassador of Ireland in Moscow Brian McElduff was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

"Resolute protest has been lodged in relation to the unfriendly and groundless steps by the Irish authorities, undertaken in March, which demanded the departure of four employees of the Embassy of Russia in Dublin.

"The ambassador was informed about appropriate reciprocal measures with respect to a number of diplomats, working at the Embassy of Ireland in Moscow."

Speaking after his meetings in Finland, Mr Martin said Russia's war on Ukraine had turned the international order upside down.

He said Ireland would at a later point reflect on the security implications of what he termed Putin's war.

Mr Martin warned of the threat of further cyber and hybrid attacks, saying the country will in the future have to reflect and talk to other states as well.