Sabina Higgins ‘dismayed’ by criticism of her view on Ukraine peace talks

Sabina Higgins, the wife of President Michael D Higgins, has defended her controversial letter to The Irish Times calling for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, saying she had “strongly condemned the illegal Russian invasion” from its outset.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Higgins moved to clarify the contents of the letter, which did not criticise the Russian invasion but called for both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskiy to call a ceasefire. She said she was “dismayed” that people had criticised her call for a ceasefire.

“I cannot be but dismayed that people would find anything unacceptable in a plea for peace and negotiations when the future of humanity is threatened by war, global warming and famine,” Ms Higgins said.

She also defended the posting of the letter on the official website of the presidency, saying it had been put on her dedicated section of the website and it was not visible on any other section of the website. Ms Higgins’s letter to The Irish Times was heavily criticised because, when calling for ceasefire negotiations, she seemed to apportion equal responsibility to both presidents but omitted to state that the war in Ukraine had started when Russia invaded the neighbouring country.

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[ Michael McDowell: Sabina Higgins was just wrong to write that letter ]

Her letter stated: “Until the world persuades President Putin of Russia and the President of Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelenskiy] to agree to a ceasefire and negotiations the long haul of terrible war will go on. How can there be any winner?”

The letter was taken down from the Áras site on Friday evening following criticism from several figures in both Ukrainian and Irish politics.

Ms Higgins pointed out that she had written the letter in a personal capacity. She said she had been asked about the letter by a number of people who had not read it and posted it on her section of the website which was not visible on any other section of the website.

“Having put my letter up, I subsequently took it down when I saw it being presented as not being from myself but from the general President.ie website,” she said.

The Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, was among those who praised the letter, saying it accorded with his country’s view on resolving the conflict.

[ Kathy Sheridan: Sabina Higgins is as publicly embedded in this 12-year presidency as her husband ]

The text of the letter was also available on The Irish Times website at all times after its publication.

Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne, who was among those who criticised Ms Higgins’s letter and queried why it had been published on the Áras website, said he welcomed her statement on Tuesday.

“If this had been issued last week when this controversy first arose, it would have made matters clearer. Unfortunately, in the meantime, the Kremlin did use her letter for propaganda purposes and she could have made clear earlier that this was not acceptable.

“Her response could have been issued alongside the clarity offered by the President at the weekend. It is important that we all seek peace but that Russian aggression and war crimes continue to be called out.”

Independent senator Gerard Craughwell said the presidential website was for the constitutional holder of the office and not for anybody else, including Ms Higgins.

“I can see no justification for any private citizen having a dedicated section of that website. We need to clarify the role of the spouse or partner of any sitting president. We still need to hear from the President himself,” Senator Craughwell said on Tuesday.

However, People Before Profit TDs Paul Murphy and Bríd Smith both defended Ms Higgins. Mr Murphy suggested the controversy had been manufactured and was an attempt by the Government to “get back” at Michael D Higgins for his scathing criticism of housing policy last month.

[ Calls for President to defend view of Sabina Higgins on Ukraine war ‘ridiculous’, Shane Ross says ]

Sabina Higgins’s full statement on Tuesday reads as follows: “For the last 11 years since coming to Áras an Uachtaráin as the wife of the President, I have continued my long-standing interests on a number of important issues. Since 2014, I have had a dedicated section on the President.ie website.

“This section contains details of activities I have been undertaking, including speeches and work towards the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, health issues, breastfeeding, issues affecting the Traveller community, human rights, supporting the arts and a range of other issues.

“Last week I had been asked about my letter to The Irish Times, which I had written in a personal capacity, by a number of people who had missed it and had not been able to access it online. I therefore put it on my dedicated section of the website as I have done for the last number of years. Having put my letter up, I subsequently took it down when I saw it being presented as not being from myself, but from the general President.ie website.

“I have from its outset strongly condemned the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine and I cannot be but dismayed that people would find anything unacceptable in a plea for peace and negotiations when the future of humanity is threatened by war, global warming and famine.”

The statement is simply signed: “Sabina Higgins”.

A note from the President’s office said: “The letter in question was published on Sabina Higgins’ section of the President.ie website only and was not visible on any other part of the website. To view the article, a visitor had to click on the ‘Sabina Higgins’ link from the main page. At no time did the letter appear on any other part of the website.”