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IRISH OFFICIALS BELIEVED the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Nikolai Kozyrev, was “exquisitely embarrassed” by the failure of then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin to emerge from a plane to meet then-Taoiseach Albert Reynolds during a planned stopover at Shannon Airport 30 years ago.
Newly released State Papers about the infamous incident on 30 September 1994 show Yeltsin subsequently wrote to Reynolds expressing regret that their meeting did not go ahead due to “an unfortunate mishap”.
Upon landing back in Moscow, Yeltsin stated that the flight had been “a nightmare”, according to an Irish diplomat who was present.
The documents also highlight how Irish civil servants believed the Russians appreciated how the Irish government handled the matter. In particular, they felt the Russians were grateful for how Irish officials “stuck to the line” used by Yeltsin’s handlers that his non-appearance was due to “indisposition or illness”.
The Taoiseach was advised by officials that if asked about the reason for what happened, he should continue to stick with such an approach as “the events at Shannon could rebound to Ireland’s advantage”.
“President Yeltsin has been the subject of criticism in Russia over the incident – in the parliament and in the media. There is no gain for Ireland in adding to this criticism,” the file notes.
A group of dignitaries led by Reynolds were left waiting to greet their guest for over an hour at Shannon while the aircraft carrying Yeltsin circulated over the area before eventually landing.
However, Yeltsin stayed on board the aircraft which was flying him from the US to Moscow.
The Taoiseach and several government ministers were left standing red-faced on a red carpet at the bottom of the steps of the airplane. A short trip to nearby Dromoland Castle in Co Clare was also planned for the formal meeting.
Although it was officially reported that Yeltsin was catching up on much-needed sleep, it was widely believed that the Russian leader was incapacitated by alcohol.
A month previously, Yeltsin had garnered international headlines when he grabbed a baton to excitedly conduct an orchestra and joined young female dancers on stage at a ceremony in Berlin to mark the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany.
The incident had further cemented his growing reputation for drunken behaviour.
In general, State Papers – official documents from Government departments and the President’s Office – are declassified and released to the public 30 years after the fact. However, some records are released before or after that timeframe.
State files released under the 30-year rule have now provided further insight into the Shannon incident which was portrayed at the time as a major snub to Ireland by the Russian president.
The files reveal that an Irish diplomat in Russia was at the airport in Moscow when Yeltsin landed several hours later and initially appeared “loud and a little incoherent”.
The official said someone remarked to him at the time:
If he talked like that in Shannon, I’m not sure your prime minister would understand him.
However, he said it became clear over the next 10 minutes that Yeltsin was “quite sober” albeit in a “somewhat excited mood”.
The diplomat said Yeltsin told him he had overslept at Shannon and “wanted to find out and punish whoever was responsible for not waking him”. He noted the Russian president was in an angry mood when speaking to his own ministers in Moscow.
A report by a senior civil servant on events at Shannon Airport observed that the fact the Russians had postponed the arrival of Yeltsin’s airplane for an hour just before its scheduled landing time suggested that “President Yeltsin’s indisposition was at one stage seen as curable”.
However, the official added: “In the end it was decided not to take a risk of events such as took place in Berlin.”
Notes prepared for the Taoiseach for replies to any questions about why Yeltsin had not left the plane at Shannon suggested that Reynolds should note the Russian president had slept through the stopover because his bodyguards were afraid to wake him.
A report on the events at Shannon airport noted that the Russians did not offer Irish officials any explanation for why Yeltsin’s plane was going to land an hour later than scheduled or the fact why they wanted to reduce their time at the airport from two hours to one.
As a result, the planned meeting between the two leaders was switched from Dromoland Castle to the VIP lounge at Shannon Airport.
The report by diplomat Liam Canniffe recorded how he confided his fears to Reynolds that Yeltsin “might be the worse for wear on arrival”.
It showed that Canniffe had anticipated such an eventuality by having made provisions to cancel an inspection of a military guard of honour by the Russian president if it was felt he was not up to doing it.
As chief of protocol, Canniffe recounted how he had entered the plane with Kozyrev after it had landed to invite Yeltsin to disembark and meet the Taoiseach.
However, he said, as he entered the aircraft after the Russian ambassador, two men hurriedly closed the door to the passenger compartment so that he could not see anything in the main section of the plane.
Canniffe said he was told by the Russian deputy prime minister, Oleg Soskovets, that Yeltsin would not be leaving the aircraft as he was “tired after his strenuous journey and was resting”.
He recalled that Russian officials had a small conferral among themselves when he asked if they were going to invite the Taoiseach to come on board the aircraft to see Yeltsin before they replied “no”.
Canniffe said he got the same reply when he had asked if Reynolds would be invited on board, even if not meeting Yeltsin.
He also revealed that the face of Soskovets, who had up to that point appeared “gloomy”, had changed to a smile at the official’s request that he would meet the Taoiseach.
The report also noted that when Soskovets was asked by journalists about Yeltsin’s failure to appear, he replied that the Russian president was “indisposed”.
Canniffe recorded that the Russian deputy chief of protocol, Ilya Barakhvostov, had told him they were “embarrassed by the turn of events” and would be asking the Taoiseach to visit Moscow “to make up for what happened”.
The Taoiseach had “a tête-à-tête” with Soskovets for about 10 minutes before a formal meeting was held between the two men who were accompanied by other ministers and officials.
Reynolds said he understood that Yeltsin was not well and also recognised “the demands of a long flight from Seattle to Shannon”.
Yeltsin subsequently wrote to the Taoiseach on 4 October 1994 to express his sincere regret that the planned meeting had not taken place “due to an unfortunate mishap” and to repeat the offer of an invitation to visit Russia.
Reynolds did indeed use the incident to his advantage, it was revealed after Yeltsin died in 2007.
The former Taoiseach later met Yeltsin at an EU summit in Sweden and the Russian president agreed to fast-track solutions to problems Irish airline Aer Rianta was having with Russia airports.
In 2007, Reynolds explained: “Within two weeks, the two problems were solved. That would be unknown out of Russia at the time.”
Recalling the 1994 incident, Reynolds told the Irish Examiner: “I had come direct from Australia, all night and the whole morning.
“I was hoping he would get off quick. I offered to go up on the flight to see him because I was told he was still asleep.
“I wasn’t told he had a few too many. It was up to yourself to read between the lines if you wanted to.”
State Papers reference number: 2024/52/572
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