Zelensky to meet Irish president and address Parliament during Dublin visit

Volodymyr Zelensky is due to be welcomed by Ireland’s new president in Dublin on Tuesday, as the United States continues its efforts to broker a ceasefire over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The visit comes a day after he met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris as part of discussions on ending Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II.

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin said he looked forward to “reiterating Ireland’s unwavering commitment to standing with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes” during his visit on Tuesday.

The Taoiseach welcomed Mr Zelensky on the tarmac after his plane landed in Dublin on Monday evening.

The two leaders are due to hold a bilateral meeting as part of Tuesday’s events, which will mark the first state visit by a Ukrainian president to Ireland.

Mr Zelensky and Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska are first due to pay a courtesy call on Irish President Catherine Connolly at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park on Tuesday morning.

Mr Zelensky is also due to attend the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum with Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris.

The Ukrainian leader will also deliver a speech to parliamentarians at Leinster House on Tuesday afternoon after being introduced by Ceann Comhairle, or the Irish Speaker of the House, Verona Murphy.

In April 2022, Mr Zelensky delivered a historic speech to the Irish parliament via video link, in which he said Ireland had not been neutral in the face of the “disaster” Russia had caused in Ukraine.

Welcoming the visit, Mr Martin said Zelensky’s arrival in Dublin comes at a “critical time” for Ukraine.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials have been working to revise the U.S.-proposed plan, developed during negotiations between Washington and Moscow, but criticized as too focused on Russian demands.

Mr Zelensky said in Paris on Monday that the peace plan “looks better” but that the subject of Ukraine’s control over its territories was “the most complicated subject” discussed.