A Leitrim man who spent several weeks involved in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in 2019 has expressed his sadness at the rising tensions between both countries.
JJ O'Hara was invited by a German MEP in 2019 to aid in discussions over prisoner transfers between both countries.
The Borders against Brexit spokesperson has kept a close eye on events since and is hopeful that diplomacy could still produce a de-escalation in tensions after Russia decided to move troops into separatist regions of Ukraine last night.
He says lessons need to be learned from conflicts closer to home on how to ease tensions
"It's a pity they wouldn't go back to the table.
Now you have countries from around the world highlighting it and it is something that there needs to be another adaption of peace and looking back at agreements again.
It's like what happened in the north-south here. It took several years to keep working on it to make4 the right agreement. That's something they should go back to the tables with."
