Taoiseach praises Trump’s efforts for peace in Ukraine and Gaza

Ireland shares President Donald Trump’s “unrelenting focus on peace”, Irish premier Micheal Martin has said.

Mr Martin hailed the US president’s work on “peace initiatives” in Ukraine and the Middle East at several engagements across his Washington, DC itinerary on Wednesday.

He told US President Donald Trump: “In my view, there is nothing more noble, president, than the pursuit of peace.”

He added: “Ireland is ready to work with you and our international partners to end conflict, and especially to bring just, lasting and sustainable peace to the people of Ukraine and the people of the Middle East.

“Conflict and war hurt the most vulnerable. Too many children in particular have died in Gaza, in Israel, in Sudan, and too many children have been abducted in Ukraine.

“Let us together never cease to strive for peace, prosperity and opportunity for all the world’s children.

“That would be an extraordinary achievement for the transatlantic relationship and an extraordinary legacy for the ages.”

Speaking during their earlier meeting in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said US work on proposals for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine had been a “great success”.

“People are going to Russia right now as we speak and hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia.

“And if we do, I think that would be 80% of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath finished. It’s a bloodbath that is taking place over there.

“On average, 2,000-3000 young people a week are being killed, and that stupid war that would have never happened if I would have been president.”

Mr Martin said he wanted to pay tribute to Mr Trump’s work towards a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“The war in Ukraine is a devastating war on young people and I think that very simple straightforward narrative is to be commended.

“We all have children, we would be shocked at the prospect of young people losing their lives in that number, be they Ukrainian, be they Russian.”

On the Middle East conflict, Mr Trump said the US was “working hard with Israel” over what he described as a “very deep-seated problem”.

He was responding to a question on Ireland’s Occupied Territories Bill, which would ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

Mr Trump said: “Israel has been under siege, as you can see, and they had to fight back. October 7 was a terrible thing. People don’t like to mention it, but it was a terrible, terrible day in the life of the world.”

He said that hostages taken in Gaza were “treated badly” and that October 7 “was a terrible thing”.

Ireland, Spain and Norway recognised Palestinian statehood last year in a stance not shared by the US.

Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if he would discuss this difference in opinion with Mr Trump, Mr Martin said: “I don’t have to inform the president. He’s very well clued into the whole situation.”

He added: “It’s been our view that a two-state solution would be ideal. It’s become much more challenging and difficult as time moved on but that has always been our position.”

The Taoiseach said Mr Trump’s administration pursued a ceasefire “as soon as they came into office”.

Mr Martin said: “We’ve been calling for a ceasefire for a long time we want to consolidate the peace – that is our fundamental aim.”

Recalling his own visit to Kibbutz Be’eri after October 7, he said: “We want the hostages out, I’ve been saying it from day one – a horrific thing to do, to take someone as a hostage.”

The Irish premier also called for a “surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza”, adding that Ireland is motivated by a “humanitarian impulse”.

He said the position was informed by the experience of violence on the island of Ireland in the past: “We’ve been through some of this.”

Mr Martin expanded on this idea at the Friends of Ireland luncheon at the US Capitol.

He said: “Our nation’s green has been threaded through the rich tapestry of the United States by almost 32 million Irish Americans.

“Throughout our Troubles, the friends of Ireland, Republican and Democrat alike, held fast to a vision of Ireland not marred by violence or terror.

“You worked unrelentingly to realise that fragile hope. You stood shoulder to shoulder with us, no matter how fierce the challenge – and there were many such challenges.

“It is that same determination that together we must devote to today’s conflicts in the Ukraine and in the Middle East.

“Our shared history teaches us that peace – however elusive it may sometimes seem – is achievable. Its promise remains within our grasp.”

Mr Martin told Mr Trump: “We hope to welcome you back to our small island.”

He added: “Mr President, we are forever grateful for the United States’ contribution to transforming our island, and we wish you well in the efforts that you are making to bring peace to the Ukraine and to the Middle East and further afield.

“We thank you for your leadership and indeed your ongoing friendship to Ireland.”