Ireland over-hasty in joining the rush to expel Russian diplomats

SIR, The decision by the Irish Government to expel a Russian diplomat from Ireland over alleged Russian Government involvement in the serious injuries inflicted on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury is at best premature, and may be wholly unjustified.

Other EU neutral countries, including Austria and Malta, have not expelled Russian diplomats. Ireland is a sovereign state and should not be dictated to by the EU, US or UK.

This attack was indeed a crime, but it is important not to exaggerate its seriousness. So far no one has died and no credible evidence has been produced as to who perpetrated this crime. The fact that the nearby Porton Down chemical warfare research centre was so quickly able to claim to have identified the chemical involved indicates the likelihood that they already had some of this material.

There are significant dangers in the current tensions with Russia that are being manipulated by the UK for domestic reasons, and by other NATO states for militaristic reasons. Well over two million people have died across the Middle East as a result of wars waged by the US, UK and NATO. We now know that the invasion of Iraq was precipitated by false information about WMDs. The Russian Government had little to gain and much to lose by perpetrating this crime.

In 1914 Arch Duke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. This crime was orchestrated to precipitate World War 1, costing over 18 million deaths. Let us not make similar mistakes that could precipitate World War 3.

Sincerely,

Edward Horgan,

Newtown,

Castletroy,

Limerick.

Russian Ambassador to Ireland Yury Filatov speaking to the media on the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Dublin.