Time of launch those Irish fishing boats again.
Russian warships have been sighted in waters close to Ireland in recent days, some of them in international waters but in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to a report in the Journal.ie, a Russian naval tanker, the Vyazma, has been operating in the Celtic Sea and the St. George’s Channel area in recent days.
The report stated that the tanker was being "accompanied by at least two Russian warships."
Added the journal.ie report: The Russian vessels are in international waters but well within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
"The ships had been tracking north towards the Irish Sea but early this morning turned around and are now heading south west.
"A British Naval vessel, HMS Lancaster, is shadowing the vessels understood to be the cruiser Marshal Ustinov and the destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov.
"Sources have said that the Russian vessels are so fuel inefficient that they require an oil tanker to accompany them.
"Earlier this morning a P8 Poseidon U.S. Naval maritime aircraft left Iceland and is understood to have headed down the west Irish coast in the direction of the Russian vessels.
"The flotilla of Russian ships came up the Portuguese coast in recent days having crossed into the Atlantic from the Mediterranean at Gibraltar. Sources believe they will either go through the Irish Sea or into the English Channel."
Earlier this year a Russian live fire naval exercise in the Irish EEZ was moved westward after protests from Irish fishermen who put to sea in a protest flotilla. They pointed out that the exercises were set to take place in rich fishing grounds.
They were also planned in an era of the Atlantic where many transatlantic undersea cables converge and this raised serious concerns in western capitals.
The latest Russian naval activist came against the backdrop of a European Union meeting in Prague where EU foreign ministers reached political consensus to fully suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a news conference that the decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states” given that the process would become more difficult and take longer.
Visas were already restricted to some categories of Russian nationals as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
The agreement will have to be approved by all member states at an European Council level.
It falls short of calls from some quarters for a complete ban on Russians visiting EU countries.
Borrell said that since mid-July, there has been a “substantial increase on border crossings from Russia in neighboring states,” which has become “a security risk for these states.”
Ireland's position was supportive of the agreement reached in Prague and delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney.
Said a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs. “Minister Coveney is attending a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Prague today and tomorrow, which amongst other issues will discuss the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement.
"Ireland is not a member of Schengen and therefore is not party to the visa facilitation agreement. This means that Russians do not benefit from a simplified tourist visa application process for Ireland, as they currently do for Schengen countries, and cannot use Irish visas to travel elsewhere in the EU.
“Nevertheless, Ireland would aim to broadly align visa policies towards Russia with a collective EU position. The large majority of EU Member States believe it does not make sense to maintain an agreement which grants favourable status and easy access for tourist visas to Russian citizens. That is also Ireland’s view. It makes sense for Ireland to consider visa applications on a case by case basis, as is done at present.”
