MEP rejects claim that NATO is ‘warmongering’ – RTE.ie

Fianna Fil MEP Barry Andrews has accused his counterpart Mick Wallace of "making excuses for Russia" under the protection of the very democracy it is trying to destroy.

Mr Andrews said it is "extraordinary" to see the two extremes of the European Parliament - the far left and the far right - "speaking off the same Moscow-generated talking points".

In a speech to the European Parliament, Mr Wallace - an Independent MEP for Ireland South - strongly criticised NATO and the United States, who he accused of "warmongering."

"We have had three months of this farce now and the line between the real and the imaginary is blurred," Mr Wallace said.

He said the purpose of NATO was the protection of Western corporate interests and and the interests of the military industrial complex "but it looks like now they are [to] protect the interests of US gas and oil".

He told MEPs: "The warmongering of NATO and the US for these past few months has done nothing for peace in Europe" adding that "people who want peace in Europe should be calling for NATO to be abolished".

But speaking to RT One's European Parliament Report, Mr Andrews said NATO was "trying to stop a war".

He said: "Mick is trying to fight the last war around Iraq, where NATO and US were using fake information to justify a way. Now Russia is using fake information to try to start a war and we have to call that out at every opportunity."

The Dublin MEP added: "The far-left in the European Parliament (which includes Mr Wallace's speech) and the far-right seem to be reading from the exact same talking points.

"They are making excuses for Russia which is trying to destroy democracy in the EU and they are making those excuses under the protection of the very democracy that Russia is seeking to destroy."

Mr Andrews concluded: "It is extraordinary to see the extremes of the European parliament speaking off the same Moscow-generated talking points."

European Parliament Report is on RTE One at 11:30am today

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MEP rejects claim that NATO is 'warmongering' - RTE.ie