​Biden won’t be ‘allowed out alone again’ after ‘embarrassing’ EU

Not being as accomplished a liar as some others in the US administration, VP Joe Biden has actually spoken the truth when he revealed that Washington had to embarrass some European states into sanctioning Russia, British MP George Galloway told RT.

RT:A week has passed since US President Vice Joe Biden gave a surprising insight about how the EU reached its decision to sanction Russia.

READ MORE:Biden says US 'embarrassed' EU into sanctioning Russia over Ukraine

That's quite an embarrassing revelation. Why there has been so little reaction to this from Europe?

George Galloway: Because they are embarrassed. Joe Biden is simple sort of chap and therefore is not as accomplished a liar as some of the others in his administration. I am not sure he will be allowed out alone again. Because on this and on other matters, Turkey and its rule in Syria for example with the Islamic State so-called, he told a lot of truth over a couple of days and will probably be gagged for the rest of the presidential term.

But in this case, I am sure, that he spoke the truth. Of course some of the European leaders probably needed less pressure than others. Some of them are willing accomplices, are willing poodles of the US and I’m sitting in the capital of one such state. David Cameron is never usually in second place to those in the queue to back US policy. But Francois Hollande in France occupies now a similar role. Indeed both of them vie with each other to be America’s best friends.

But the objective truth is that you have just summarized it that at the time of real serious economic hardship in Europe the very last thing that the European Union’s economies needed was to go off on this foolish attempt to bring pressure to bear on the government of Russia. There are no winners in that.

RT:Should there be some sort of investigation into what really went on? Because many people are strongly oppose the sanctions.

GG: The American president often times had to embarrass the governments. Of course, the ways that the EU at the top level makes its decisions are profoundly undemocratic...If the European parliament had any real power it would be subjecting the EU to forensic examination on how these decisions were reached. But it doesn’t. The British parliament has very limited scope to question the Prime Minister on actions taken by the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels. So when the Parliament goes back here in Britain we will be pressing for answers. But I’m afraid we will be fobbed off with the usual London diplomatic speech.

But the facts cannot be denied. We are all in economic trouble. Britain is still in the grip of austerity. Mass unemployment is still the reality across the EU. Huge cuts in public expenditure are being levied on the people of the EU. And here we are self-harming, here we are disfiguring the face of our own economic prospects to please Barack Obama.

RT:Do you think that the pressure will grow to such an extent that Europe and Brussels will be forced to backtrack on sanctions then?

GG: Of course if the people could be rallied to pressurize their independent states then the council of ministers outcome would be different. But the fear that we are locked into this crazy policy of aggression against Russia, at this point only financial, and propaganda aggression of doing no more than any Russian state led by whomsoever would have to do, which is be concerned about the rise of far-right ultranationalist even fascist formations in the country next door, and which is leading to huge large-scale repression of Russian speaking citizens of that country next door. President Putin is doing no more than any Russian leader would have to do if they were worthy of the name.