FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Corbyn Stands By His Words amid British Government Russophobic Insanity
20, 2018 (EIRNS) - In an interview on BBC’s Radio 4’s World at One, British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn once again demonstrated that he is one of the few British and European political leaders with any principles and even rationality in the face of the British government’s insane drive against Russia. In the interview on March 20 Corbyn stuck with his position that he will wait for the evidence.
“What I’m saying is the weapons were made from Russia, clearly,” he told Radio 4’s World at One. “I think Russia has to be held responsible for it, but there has to be an absolutely definitive answer to the question, where did the nerve agent come from?” Corbyn continued: “All fingers point towards Russia’s involvement in this, and obviously the manufacture of the material was undertaken by the Russian state originally.” But he made clear “Don’t shoot from the hip...”
Corbyn repeated his call for Russia to be sent samples of the nerve agent. “I asked the Russians be given a sample so that they can say categorically one way or the other.”
Asked how he would deal with what many people see as the threat from Russia, Corbyn said he would deal with the issues at hand, such as this current spy case and cyber-security, but was clear that he would have “a very robust dialogue with Russia. There has to be that dialogue otherwise we don’t get anywhere.”
BBC asked whether he thinks he could do business with Putin, he again said yes,
“You have to do business with people whether you like them or not, whether you agree with them or not. You have to do business based on your principles. So yes, would I do business with Putin? Sure. And I’d challenge him on human rights in Russia, challenge him on these issues, and challenge him on that whole basis of that relationship.”
He expanded, telling the BBC: “
You have to deal with people who are in the position they are—after all he is head of state.... He’s just been elected as head of state for another six years and Russia is a huge country that has suffered more than anyone else in the Second World War and we have to recognize there has to be a relationship with Russia. Yes, robust; assertive, yes; demanding, yes; but there has to be a relationship.”
The first part of the interview was on former Labour Party Prime Minister Tony Blair bringing Britain into the war against Iraq based on a lie, a war which Corbyn passionately opposed. The entire interview starts roughly at minute 18, here:
