Readers' Letters: Ukraine peace deal needs a weakened Russia

Many commentators believe the Ukraine invasion is part of Russia’s ambition to restore the whole Soviet empire.

The anniversary of the Ukraine war passes with a deeply cynical Putin subjecting the heroic Ukrainian people to another year of war that threatens to escalate to a wider conflict. President Zelensky expresses a desire it will end this year and is confident of a Ukrainian victory, but wars rarely end in success.​

With over 100,000 dead or injured on both sides, millions displaced and stalemate on the battlefield, it is time to consider a settlement. Given the threat of China supplying Russia with lethal weapons, as ITN’s Debbie Edward reported last week, there is now the potential for the crisis to escalate to a world war.

On the face of it the Chinese 12-point peace proposal is exactly what Russia wants, but Ukraine’s position is strengthened after the announcement of a $2bn US military aid package, a major escalation in sanctions, the first delivery of Leopard tanks from Poland and the likely delivery of fighter jets from Eastern Europe.

To end the war will require an appeal to Putin’s biggest weakness, his ego, to ensure he can save face but to achieve peace with justice will ultimately require him and his henchmen to face up to their war crimes.

Neither side will back down on territory so there is a potentially a role for the UN to ensure democratic elections take place in the Donbas and Crimea.

Ultimately, however, this is about Russia’s ambition to restore the whole Soviet empire. A peace deal needs Russia weakened so it cannot hold further special military operations.

There is a risk that this may play into China’s ambition to become the world’s main global superpower, both economically and militarily, but that will ultimately be the true legacy of the war if it drags on and is allowed to escalate.

Neil Anderson

Edinburgh

Begum ruling

I had almost reached the end of Susan Dalgety's article on Shamima Begum (The Scotsman, Saturday 25) when, predictably, one comes to her comment we are treating her the way we are because she has a brown face.

No, Susan, we are not.

Shamima, glamourising in her western make-up, hairstyle, clothing, sunglasses, nail varnish etc, would like to return, with the other 425 ISIS Brits languishing in fly-infested Syrian camps to advise other young impressionable teenage girls not to emulate her; but their evident desolation is a far more potent warning.

Begum, it is claimed, justified the Manchester Arena bombing; was unfazed in her witnessing a severed head in a Caliphate waste bin, was a member of the feared Morality Police, sewed Jihadi bombers into their suicide vests, and tried to justify the enslavement and rape of Yazidi women.

She doesn't sound like “Sharon From Manchester”.

MI5 and MI6 testified to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission that she, and those like her are a security risk.On being similarly briefed, Sir Keir Starmer came to the same conclusion as Sajid Javid, changed his opinion and said she cannot return.

John V Lloyd

Inverkeithing, Fife

‘Scruffy’ police

With regard to Douglas Cowe's letter of February 25, I took particular interest in it as I am a retired police officer.

I took particular notice of his comment regarding “scruffy and untidy officers” as a few weeks ago an ex-colleague of mine, also retired, remonstrated with two officers in Dundee city centre regarding just such an appearance.

He told me that they were walking along the street blethering to each other and paying no attention to what was going on in the city centre and one with his hands in pockets. After advising them that he thought their appearance and attitude was and I quote “a disgrace” their response was to put their heads down and walk away.

I hear from long-serving officers and retired officers of similar instances and lack of interest when officers do attend to incidents. I understand that many new starts do not want to participate in the pension scheme, clearly showing that they do not see police service as a career but possibly a paid stop-gap until they can find work more suited to their fine arts or media studies degree!

Ivar Colquhoun

Newport on Tay, Fife

Gender debate

During the Conservative leadership debates little attention was paid to views on gender recognition reform in spite of the fact that the recommendations of the recent Tory-led Women and Equalities Committee, which were “broadly in line” with the bill passed by the Scottish Parliament, were apparently being ignored.

My recollections of those debates did not include forensic scrutiny of the views of the candidates on this issue or on how they might have voted nearly 20 years ago if they had been in the UK Parliament when the 2004 Gender Recognition Act was passed.

While Kate Forbes is young and relatively inexperienced in responding to media interviewers intent on exploiting her frankness, most of the general public, including SNP members, are probably more interested in her vision for the future and how she will progress self-determination in order to make Scotland a better country in which to live for all of its citizens.

Certainly despite some highly aggressive questioning she should still have managed to express her sympathetic understanding of concerns of the LGBT community but as long as she will sincerely fight to protect, and where possible advance, the rights of all minorities she should not be summarily rejected as a leadership candidate who, should she become First Minister, will have around her strong advocates of those rights (regardless of whether or not the SNP remains in coalition with the Greens).

Stan Grodynski

Longniddry

Badly treated?

In an effort to divert attention from the toxic leadership battle in the SNP, Leah Gunn Barrett argues (February 25) that Scotland has been badly treated by the UK because it is so wealthy that the Government hid the figures in case Scots decided to go it alone.

This is a rather patronising view of the shallowness of Scots, to be honest as there are many other reasons for a nation to stick together and having lots of money is neither here nor there, except for the shallow.

What is her alternative? Oh, I know. Give it all to Brussels. Of course.