Yury Anatoliyevich Filatov

Yury Anatoliyevich Filatov is the Russian ambassador to Ireland.[1]

For former Soviet kayaker, see Yuri Filatov.

Often referred to in Ireland as "Comical Yury" for his tendency to tell the sort of absurd lies on Irish radio that would be accepted as fact in Russia.

Skripal affair
Main article: Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal

As a result of the Skripal affair, Simon Coveney informed the ambassador that "that the accreditation of a member of his staff with diplomatic status is to be terminated".[2] The ambassador appeared on Claire Byrne Live and said that Ireland should put its own interests first, not those of another country and also said:

"The only thing I know for sure, from the onset of the whole incident on 4 March in Salisbury – the British Government has moved away from dealing with that in a responsible manner. So, they preferred to wage a propaganda campaign, unprecedented, surely."[2]

2022 Russian military exercise controversy
Main article: 2022 Russian military exercise controversy

During the controversy Ambassador Filatov met with members of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation.[3]

Russian-Ukrainian crisis
Main article: 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis

On 2 February 2022 he said to an Oireachtas committee that there was an "almost daily drumbeat of so-called imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine" and claimed there were no facts to support the invasion "fantasy".[4] He claimed "The most pressing issue facing Russia, Europe and beyond is the threat to Russian national security resulting from the eastward expansion of NATO" and this "is unacceptable and has to be dealt with".[4]

In an interview on 16 February 2022 with Prime Time he said the idea what Russia would invade Ukraine was "insane".[5] He denied that stationing Russian troops around borders with Ukraine was an act of aggression or that Russia planned on invading Ukraine.[5] He said "We do not have any political, economic, military or [any] other reason to do that. The whole idea is insane. If you knew something about the Russian and Ukrainian people you would never ask such a question".[5] He said the troops would return to normal duties in about three to four weeks.[5]

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine.[6] On 25 February 2022 he was grilled during an interview by David McCullagh on RTÉ News: Six One,[7] which received widespread praise.[8]

On 29 March 2022 he was summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and told of a decision to expel four senior diplomats from the Russian embassy, not including him.[9]

References
  1. O'Connor, Niall (2022-01-31). "Russian Navy releases details of anti-submarine drills off coast of Norway". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. Ní Aodha, Gráinne (2018-03-27). "Why has Ireland ousted a Russian diplomat, and how significant is it?". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. "Fishermen plan to disrupt Russian military exercise". RTÉ News. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. Regan, Mary (2022-02-02). "No reason for Russia to invade Ukraine, says Russian Ambassador". RTÉ News. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  5. Mcinerney, Sarah. "Russia invading Ukraine 'insane' - Russian Ambassador". RTÉ News.
  6. Ryan, Órla (2022-02-24). "Russian invasion of Ukraine: Here is what we know so far". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  7. "Russian Ambassador to Ireland defends invasion amid calls to expel him". RTÉ.
  8. "International Praise For David McCullagh After Interview With Russian Ambassador".
  9. Duffy, Rónán; O'Connor, Niall (2022-03-29). "Ireland to expel four senior officials from the Russian Embassy". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
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