Taoiseach Micheál Martin attending Special European Council

“After three years of war, European leaders will send a strong signal of our unshakeable commitment to standing with Ukraine and its people. We all want to see an end to this brutal war. We want Ukraine to enter any negotiations in a position of strength, and we need to ensure they can lead to a just and lasting comprehensive peace agreement. Peace must respect Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. I look forward to discussing with colleagues how we can work together with Ukraine and with partners to secure that goal.

“Ireland will continue to offer what support we can. This week the government agreed to provide a further €100 million in non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine to help it to continue to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

“I will also be advocating at today’s meeting for Ukraine’s application for membership of the EU to be accelerated. EU membership can be an important part of a wider set of security guarantees.

“Russia remains a threat to European security, and the challenging global geopolitical situation means that Europe must do more to secure its own security and defence. Ireland is not immune from these threats. We are increasing our defence capabilities at home and we are ready to work constructively with partners to do more together.

“We will do so in full respect for our policy of military neutrality which is fully understood and respected by our EU partners.”