Careless talk

Being a Scottish newspaper, these columns have long debated the inexplicable decision by David Cameron, in 2013, to have an in/out referendum on the EU. It was a catastrophic decision whose repercussions are being felt today.

Some regard him as a gameplaying tactician and the ennobled Foreign Secretary is still at it today. Did he think the British public had taken its eyes off the ball – what with English local elections/the Scottish constitutional crisis/gaza – last week when he promised Ukraine £3 billion each year but then went further, saying Ukraine had the right to use British weapons against Russian

territory? Did Rishi Sunak actually rubber stamp that?

It is hardly surprising that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it a dangerous statement. The incoming UK Labour Government must rescind it immediately. Until now it has been accepted that weapons such as the longrange Storm Shadow should only be used within Ukraine itself, and they, clearly, have been used against Russia’s Black Sea fleet.

Significantly, the US has warned Ukraine to desist from striking oil refineries in Russia. There is already considerable concern and incredulity at the remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that Russian troops having broken through Ukrainian lines meant France would have to legitimately consider sending ground troops. There is little doubt that Russia is preparing for a summer offensive. We must not get involved in a hybrid war with Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky needs to accept the invitation by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to attend peace talks. The Chinese Peace plan of President Xi Jinping and Wang Yi offers a basis.

Ukraine cannot win a war against a super power with an arsenal of 5,580 nuclear weapons, however much military hardware the West may send them.

John V Lloyd

Inverkeithing, Fife