A UK-Ireland summit marks a “major and significant manifestation” of a reset in relations between the two governments in the post-Brexit era, Taoiseach (Irish PM) Micheál Martin has said.
He met Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday evening, ahead of the summit on Thursday.
The first of its kind, it will be attended by cabinet members from both the UK and Irish governments in the North West of England.
It comes amid the backdrop of growing security concerns among the UK and EU countries about the influence of Russia.
At the summit, the pair are expected to discuss the latest efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, as well as agreeing a programme of co-operation between both governments over the next five years.
Ahead of the meeting, Martin paid tribute to the prime minister for “his leadership over the last while”.
“He has been effective and impactful, we all want peace – there are too many wars in the world,” he told reporters.
Asked if he would stand his ground with President Trump at events in Washington DC for St Patrick’s Day next week, the taoiseach said his focus for now was the British-Irish relationship and that the Irish-US relationship remained important.
He also said he did not agree with comments by First Minister Michelle O’Neill after she said she was “incredulous” at the UK Government’s decision to spend up to £1.6bn on defence missiles for Ukraine.
“I wouldn’t agree with the first minister – no one likes the utilisation of weapons and all my life I’ve been on the peace side of the equation,” he said.
“We don’t live in an ideal world, one has to have capability to defend your country.
“But it’s Russia who illegally invaded Ukraine, that’s the reality… Europe needs to improve and enhance its capability in order to have a deterrence to avoid any encroachment on a member of the EU.”
The summit is expected to finish by mid morning on Thursday as the taoiseach is attending a special European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday afternoon.
Sir Keir has previously expressed the importance of “resetting relation” between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Last September, he became the first British prime minister to visit the Republic of Ireland in five years.
Downing Street said the visit marked a “new era of co-operation and friendship” between Britain and Ireland.
