Tánaiste accuses Russian president of being ‘holdout’ in Ukraine peace talks

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs has accused the Russian president of being the “holdout” in reaching a peace deal with Ukraine.

Simon Harris questioned whether Vladimir Putin wanted peace or was “dragging” out negotiations by calling for further conditions while continuing its attacks on Ukraine.

Speaking in New York, Mr Harris said that no one wanted peace more than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Donald Trump is expected to speak to his Russian counterpart on Tuesday, as the US president continues his attempts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.

The call, announced by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, comes as Mr Putin continues to resist an American-backed proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.

Mr Harris said Ireland and the rest of Europe was focused on reaching a peace deal.

“We can’t forget at any time that there’s only one aggressor in relation to this war,” Mr Harris said.

“The people of Ukraine were living peacefully in their sovereign country when Vladimir Putin took the decision to brutally and illegally invade a sovereign territory on the continent of Europe.

“So we in the European Union, we as Irish people, as part of the European Union, of course have a very active interest in making sure that the people of Ukraine get a lasting peace, a just peace, and enduring peace, but also from a European security point of view, the importance of European voices being in the room.

“Let’s hope some good comes from conversations in the days ahead. But what I’d be most interested to see is how any process to bring about peace is constructed in a way that, of course, Ukraine are in the room, and I think Europe obviously needs to be in the room as well.”

Mr Harris went on to say that aggression could not be rewarded.

He added: “The United States is perfectly entitled to have a conversation with whoever he wishes.

“But I hope what happens after that conversation is that we can really move the focus back onto answering the question, does Vladimir Putin want peace?

“Because for all the talk of peace, all that we’ve actually seen from Putin in recent days is continued attacks on civilians, on civilian infrastructure, on Ukraine, on the people of Ukraine.

“Remember, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has agreed to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to try and bring a process in place to bring about lasting peace.

“At the moment, Putin is the holdout here, and I hope we can see clarity in relation to that. We’ll know very soon, does Vladimir Putin actually want peace?

“Or is he just trying to drag this out with condition after condition? Zelensky has been very clear, wanting to see a cessation of violence, but then it’s really important that the peace that is brought about is just, is enduring, and, of course, recognises that there is only one aggressor in this world.”