Sun Aug 31, 2014 6:13AM GMT
Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury, has criticized the European Union's newly proposed sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, calling the 28 member-state bloc a US “puppet.”
“It’s really up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin what happens. It’s not up to the EU. The EU is a puppet state of the United States. They’re being hurt by the sanctions that Washington has forced Europeans to impose on Russia,” he said in an interview with Press TV.
“The main hurt is only Europeans, not Russians,” he added.
The European Union announced on Saturday that it would impose further sanctions against Moscow over the incursion of Russian troops into Ukraine.
“The whole question is whether the people in Washington [are] trying to control Russia or going to lose their European Empire. That’s the question before the world, will Europe sacrifice itself in order to serve American pressure against Russia, Craig Roberts explained. “I doubt it. I don’t think that’s possible. The government, the leaders might, but not the people.”
“The German people I don’t think will stand for this when they see all the hurt coming to Germany because the idiot in Washington is trying to hurt Russia. It’s not going to happen, so what we are about to witness in my view is a collapse of American power,” he continued.
On Sunday, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the bloc's heads of state tasked their executive body to "urgently" prepare tougher economic sanctions that could be adopted within a week.
He said the EU "stands ready to take further significant steps in light of the evolution of the situation on the ground.” "Everybody is fully aware that we have to act quickly."
White House National Security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden welcomed the EU's move.
"We welcome the European Council's consensus today to show strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to prepare further sanctions for consideration in coming days," she said.
The United States and the European Union have already imposed asset freezes and travel bans on senior Russian officials.
Washington and its allies accuse Moscow of supporting pro-Russian forces fighting against the Kiev government in eastern Ukraine, but the Kremlin denies the allegations.
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