BRIAN Dash’s convoluted musings (Letters, April 9) add nothing to the argument about keeping the peace in Europe.

He gives no example of a European war breaking out between two democratic countries, referring instead to those involving 19th century states which fell far short of democratic status.

As long as European countries remain genuinely democratic, there is no danger of them going to war with one another. Therefore, if follows that the EU, with its unaccountable Commissioners and bureaucracies, contributes nothing to the preservation of peace in Europe, whatever their pompous declarations of intent may say.

As for Ukraine, serious academic experts, such as Professor Anatol Lieven, have argued persuasively that it is wrong for the EU to engage in a tug-of-war with Russia, as this plays into the hands of the Kremlin. There is nothing ‘pro-Putin’ about recognising this obvious consequence of the EU’s clumsiness in respect of that unhappily divided society.

COLIN SMITH, Totton.