Ireland foreign minister dodges question over Russian-owned alumina plant

Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee would not commit to including Ireland's alumina plant, whose products reportedly ended up in Russian weapons in Ukraine, in an upcoming EU sanctions list, during remarks made ahead of a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers on Sept. 2.

The Irish Times published data in May showing that the Aughinish Alumina plant, owned by Russian company Rusal, exports overwhelmingly to Russia, with the material reportedly being found in weapons Moscow uses against Ukraine.

The Irish government initially argued that sanctioning the plant would cause more harm to the EU than to Russia. However, Dublin later agreed to an investigation, which "has not found concrete or definitive evidence linking the alumina to a weapons manufacturer in Russia," said Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

"Look, you'll know that the report was recently provided to the (European) Commission in relation to Alumina," the Irish foreign minister said when asked about sanctions against the plant ahead of a ministerial meeting in Wicklow, Ireland.

"We've also provided it to our colleagues in Ukraine and we will work with them."

Ukraine has not recently commented on the Aughinish Alumina plant, but Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha previously said that Russia must be "deprived of access" to alumina.

The topic is back on the table because the EU is considering its 22nd package of sanctions against Russia, which is set to include some 1,600 listings, the highest number ever.

"Ireland has supported every single package of sanctions that has been put forward. We have worked over the last number of months with colleagues to ensure that the 21st (package passes)," McEntee said.

However, Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna revealed that he had proposed the inclusion of alumina in the 21st package of sanctions, passed in July.

It did not feature, meaning an EU member state had vetoed its inclusion. All EU sanctions require unanimity among the 27 member states.

Ireland has never admitted to vetoing the plant's inclusion, but it is the only country with an obvious interest in doing so.

Just after McEntee spoke, her Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen said Finland remains "open to sanctioning aluminum."

"Russia is a war economy... everything is going directly or indirectly towards the war," Valtonen said.

"I think we really need to explore all the options on the table."