LETTER OF THE WEEK

Our Russia stance is wise

I’M PLEASED to see, according to your front-page story (MoS, June 10) that the Government is still taking a tough stand with Russia.

I had feared that the decision to expel a Russian diplomat back in March, following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in England, was a oneoff gesture in response to political pressure from the British.

There is no question now but that Russia is a massive threat to western democracy, with its increasingly sophisticated attempts to meddle in electoral politics across the western world. There is no reason to imagine that Ireland will be exempt from this Russian campaign.

It is unfortunate that the World Cup is being held in Russia, as it gives Vladimir Putin a chance to ‘normalise’ his country. There’s nothing normal about Putin’s Russia.

Peter O’Brien, Cork city.