Taoiseach Micheál Martin has received a formal invitation from US president Donald Trump to travel to Washington for the traditional St Patrick’s Day engagements. They will meet on March 12th.
The Fianna Fáil leader heads to the White House in the aftermath of an extraordinary public clash between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States at the White House on Friday.
A meeting that was supposed to ease transatlantic tensions over Ukraine through the signing of a bilateral deal on mineral extraction instead descended into a shouting match.
How should Micheál Martin approach his White House visit?
US vice president JD Vance accused Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy of not thanking the US for its support and of backing Trump’s Democratic opponents in last year’s election.
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Mr Trump expressed frustration with Kyiv’s reluctance to consider a ceasefire with Russia without first agreeing security guarantees with Washington.
Prior to Friday’s White House row, the Taoiseach had told reporters that he planned to tell the US president how damaging tariffs on EU exports could be for the Irish economy while also discussing the war in Ukraine and Gaza ceasefire.
In the wake of Mr Trump’s tumultuous presidency there had been calls for Mr Martin not to attend the annual St Patrick’s Day event, although he said to reporters he was “looking forward” to the meeting.
We’d like to hear your view on Mr Martin’s White House visit and how you think he should approach it.
