The Russians are not known for giving up ground easily.
But water?
Well, they are apparently a little more fluid on that.
The Russian government has taken clear note of the concerns of Irish fishermen over their plans for naval war games in a corner of Ireland's Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Russian Navy and an Irish fishing fleet, based mainly at Castletownbere in County Cork, were headed on a collision course.
But the Russians have now said that they will relocate their naval exercises, though to exactly where is not clear.
But they apparently won't now be staged in the Irish EEZ.
Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, said that Russia’s defense minister had decided, “as a gesture of goodwill,” to move the military exercises outside of Ireland’s exclusive economic zone “with the aim not to hinder fishing activities by the Irish vessels in the traditional fishing areas.”
“This is all we wanted. Now we can give out the information to our boats: ‘Listen lads, out you go, fish away, no worries,’” Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producer’s Organization, told CNN.
The navy exercises are scheduled for February 3-8 and would have taken place about 160 miles off Ireland's southwest coast and atop traditional and valuable Irish fishing grounds. The area is considered as international waters even though within Ireland's EEZ.
The Washington Post reported that Murphy told RTE last week that the area, which contains “half a billion tons” of blue whiting and serves as a spawning ground for a variety of fish, was critical for fishermen and their families. He raised concerns that noise pollution from the Russian drills could harm whales and dolphins and that Russian submarines could get tangled in fishing gear.
“This is our ground, this is our farm, this is where we earn our living. Why should somebody be able to come in and do that in our waters?” he said.
The Irish fishing boats had planned to sail right into the exercise area. The Irish government had expressed its alarm and disapproval over the exercises which will yet take place against the backdrop of the Russia/Ukraine crisis. The story received worldwide coverage.
Some reports were suggesting that the Russian ships would be exercising over a seabed convergence of crucial transatlantic internet cables and that the exercises were really a threat linked to Russia's possible invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine/Russia situation is down for debate at the United Nations Security Council, of which Ireland is currently a rotating member.
