Sabina Higgins will 'take no comfort' from Russian ambassador's praise of her letter
Picture: Received The Sabina Settlement End Higgins Has For Coyne Her Calling For To War A Maxwells Criticism Ukraine Negotiated In Letter
Sabina Coyne Higgins, the wife of President Michael D Higgins, will "take no comfort" from the praise by the Russian ambassador of a letter she wrote to a national newspaper on the subject of the war in Ukraine, a Fianna Fáil TD has said.
Ms Coyne Higgins wrote to the earlier this week to call for a negotiated settlement to the war.
She said the paper's editorial pages had not mentioned any move towards a ceasefire.
"Until the world persuades President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine to agree to a ceasefire and negotiations, the long haul of terrible war will go on. How can there be any winner? The Ukrainian people have suffered tens of thousands of casualties and are now losing up to a thousand soldiers a day, killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Your editorial states that in the war it is estimated that 25,000 to 27,000 Russians have been killed in the fighting.
"This is surely a moment of moral choice. Concerned people of the world anxious to live together in peace and sustainability must demand that this war be brought to an end so that lives are saved, and there is a lessening of the suffering, and the reconstruction of lives and livelihoods can begin."
However, despite the call for peace, there was some criticism for Ms Coyne Higgins because her letter was praised by Yury Filatov, the Russian ambassador to Ireland. He told the the call for a negotiated settlement "makes sense"
"She’s against war. We’re all against war," he said.
Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O'Sullivan told Newstalk's Pat Kenny it was likely Ms Coyne Higgins would "take no comfort" from Mr Filatov's praise, while Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said Ms Coyne Higgins had not identified the aggressors in the war.
Professor Brigid Laffan of the EU Robert Schuman Centre said Ms Coyne Higgins "owes the people of Ukraine an apology", while Fine Gael senator John McGahon tweeted: "When the Russian Ambassador praises your view of the Ukrainian Invasion, it’s time to re-think your stance."