County Council rejects motion to call for expulsion of Russian Ambassador
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
On Monday, Galway County councillors voted down a motion which called for the Irish Government to expel Ireland’s Russian Ambassador.
At the same meeting, the Galway County Councillors voted unanimously in favour of a separate motion condemning the violent actions of Russia in Ukraine. This was a vote to stand in solidarity with Ukrainian citizens in Galway.
To express solidarity with Ukrainians, the Ukrainian flag was raised on Tuesday outside of the Galway City Council and Galway County Council buildings. It will remain raised until there is a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Independent councillor, James Charity, brought a motion to council which called for the Russian Ambassador, Yury Filatov, and his diplomatic associates to be removed from their position in the Russian embassy in Dublin.
The motion did not pass because of concerns that expelling the Russian ambassador could be counterproductive, and amid fears that doing so would encourage Russia to expel their Irish ambassador.
The proposal was defeated by one vote, with several abstentions.
In response to his motion being voted against, Mr Charity said that he was disappointed that Galway City Councillors didn’t go far enough to send a message to central government.
Currently, the Irish Government does not intend to expel the Russian Ambassador, according to Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
For more Galway Pulse stories, click here.
