Taoiseach Micheál Martin attends meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine
- Published on: 11 December 2025
- Last updated on: 11 December 2025
Taoiseach Micheál Martin participated in a meeting this evening of the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine.
The video meeting was co-chaired by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and President of France Emmanuel Macron and was joined also by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
The meeting was part of ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at ending Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and intense coordination on support for Ukraine, both of which will be the main focus of the meeting of the European Council on 18 December which the Taoiseach will be attending.
Speaking after today’s meeting, the Taoiseach said:
“As diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent weeks aimed at bringing peace to Ukraine, today’s meeting was an opportunity to take stock of the state of the talks and to hear from President Zelenskyy on Ukraine’s ongoing engagement with the US.
“The meeting discussed how the Coalition of the Willing can support these efforts and step up its assistance to Ukraine to help deliver a positive outcome in the negotiations.
“I underlined Ireland’s consistent position that it is for the people and Government of Ukraine to determine their future and to agree to the terms of any peace agreement. Today’s meeting reiterated our full and unequivocal support to President Zelenskyy and our assurances that we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
“As I made clear to President Zelenskyy during his historic visit to Ireland earlier this month, we want to see a just and lasting peace for Ukraine - a peace that respects the principles of the UN Charter and that provides guarantees for Ukraine’s future security.
“This is also crucial for Europe’s future security. It is important therefore that the EU and other European partners are involved in shaping the final outcome.
“Russia needs to end its illegal and brutal war. We need to increase pressure on Russia. I made clear Ireland’s support for the mobilisation of frozen Russian assets in support for Ukraine and our commitment to working for an agreement on this issue at the meeting of the European Council next week.
“I also reiterated our strong support for Ukraine’s path towards EU membership and that the accession negotiations should be accelerated. Moving forward is something that we in the EU need to do now."