Sir, – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany's foreign minister, bemoans Nato's limited steps to offer assurance to the democracies of Poland and the Baltic republics as "sabre-rattling and warmongering" ("Assessing the Russian threat", Editorial, July 11th). This effort to protect the freedom and liberties of the people of these nations is no more a sign of "warmongering" than the acquisition of fire insurance is any indication of a proclivity towards pyromania.
Mr Steinmeier should focus his concerns on the actual sabre-drawing of Vladimir Putin’s forces of aggression.
Since he initially took over the office of Russian president in 1999, Mr Putin has unleashed assaults against the peoples of Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea and eastern Ukraine. He has deployed military forces to Syria in a campaign to prop-up the brutal Assad dictatorship. He maintains occupation forces in the trans-Dniester region of Moldova and the Abkhazia/South Ossetia regions of Georgia.
As Irish lawyer and politician John Philpot Curran stated “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance”. The democracies of Europe cannot protect their liberty by wishful thinking. – Yours, etc,
DAN DONOVAN,
Dungarvan,
Co Waterford.