The letter, published in the Irish Times last week, was praised by Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, who told the newspaper the argument “makes sense”. But some politicians criticized the letter because it appeared to put Ukraine and Russia on an equal footing instead of seeing Moscow as the aggressor in the war that began in February. “Until the world convinces President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to agree to a cease-fire and negotiations, the long and terrible war will continue,” wrote the president’s wife, Michael D. Higgins. The Irish government, which has stressed it is militarily but not politically neutral in the conflict, has called for an end to the Russian invasion. The letter from Sabina Higgins, who has campaigned against the wars, was criticized as a “propaganda victory” for Russia by Cormac Smith, a former adviser to the Kiev foreign ministry. The letter was removed from the presidential website. The Irish president’s office did not immediately respond to a request to say why it was posted and then taken down. The row follows other EU messages that have angered Ukraine’s government, including a remark in June by French President Emmanuel Macron urging the West not to “humiliate” Russia over its invasion. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has called for a ceasefire but has not repeated such calls recently. Mario Draghi, Italy’s prime minister, called in May for a ceasefire and for international pressure to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. Draghi has been under pressure from coalition partners, who have claimed that Italy’s arms supply to Ukraine is fueling the conflict. Draghi stressed that any peace deal must be acceptable to Ukraine. Higgins’ office said in a statement to Irish media that the president was “unequivocal in his condemnation of the Russian invasion,” calling it “illegal, immoral and unjustified” and called for “Russia’s immediate withdrawal and an end to violence. “. Erin McGreehan, a senator from Fianna Fáil, a party that is part of Ireland’s ruling coalition, said the publication of Sabina Higgins’ letter “disrespected our nation” and called on the president to apologise. “If he doesn’t, he should definitely consider his position,” McGreehan wrote on Twitter.

The president has taken controversial positions in the past. In June, he slammed Ireland’s chronic housing crisis as “our big, big, big failure” and a “disaster”. Last year, he refused to attend an event to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland’s division. Simon Coveney, Dublin’s foreign secretary, said at the time “President Higgins is the sort of man who makes his own decisions”. In a statement on Tuesday night, Sabina Higgins defended the letter. “I have strongly condemned the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine from the beginning and I cannot help but be disappointed that people would find anything objectionable in a call for peace and negotiations when the future of humanity is threatened by war, global warming and famine. . ” he said. She said she had posted the letter on her special section of the presidential website but “then took it down when I saw it wasn’t from me but from the general website president.ie”. Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome and Guy Chazan in Berlin