Buffer zone for Irish fishermen
Russia gives in to military maneuvers in the Zoff
01/27/2022, 8:11 p.m
Moscow wants to conduct maneuvers with warships within Ireland’s 200-mile zone. However, Irish fishermen fear impacts on their fishing grounds and are threatening to disrupt the exercise. Now there is a compromise.
Irish fishermen have reached a compromise with the Russian ambassador in Dublin in the dispute over a planned military maneuver in the Atlantic. Brendan Byrne of the Irish Fishing Industry Association said after a meeting with Russia’s Ambassador Yuri Filatov in Dublin that a buffer zone is to be set up between the fishing fleet and Russian military ships. The agreement still has to be approved by a higher authority in Moscow, Byrne said, according to the PA news agency.
The area in question is in international waters but within Ireland’s so-called 200-mile zone, where the EU country has the exclusive right to commercial exploitation. Irish fishermen had previously announced that they wanted to disrupt the Russian warships’ military exercise planned for February 3-8 by entering the area. The background was fears that the target practice could have a negative impact on fish stocks.
The Irish government had previously described the exercise as “unwelcome” and warned ships not to approach the area. “The Russian Federation has indicated that the drills will involve the use of artillery and missile launches,” the statement said.
Ireland’s former Agriculture and Maritime Minister Michael Creed accused Moscow of provocation and linked it to growing tensions on the Russia-Ukraine border. It is the first time that Russia wants to conduct military maneuvers in the area, he told RTÉ. Filatow, on the other hand, described the controversy as “enormously inflated”. The maneuver was “in no way a threat to Ireland or anyone else,” he reportedly said at a press conference earlier in the week. It is only a small exercise involving three to four ships.