Arizona Democrat Rep. Gallego: Obama's handling of Russia was 'weak' and 'wrong'

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Democrat Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego criticized former President Obama on Wednesday for the way he handled situations with Russia during his presidency and concluded that some of his actions contributed to the problems we're seeing today as turmoil in Ukraine intensifies.

Gallego made the remarks during the final day of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in America conference at Arizona State University's Beus Center for Law and Society. During his speech, Gallego, according to The Arizona Republic, called on President Biden to send military aid to Kyiv, and also to deploy troops to NATO countries near the region.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., attends a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee in Rayburn, January 14, 2015. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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"Russia is an autocratic bullying country and ... they're the bad guys. We, NATO, democratic countries, are the good guys," Gallego said, distancing himself from opinions once held by Obama. "It's OK to say that it's OK for us to fight that way."

In a 2014 interview with The Atlantic, Obama made clear that he believed it was not in America's best interest to interfere with ongoing events in Europe as it relates to Russia and Ukraine.

"The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what we do," Obama said. "This is an example of where we have to be very clear about what our core interests are and what we are willing to go to war for."

Former US President Barack Obama gestures to the crowd, during an event in Kogelo, Kisumu, Kenya, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo Brian Inganga)

"President Obama was wrong about that and the way he actually dealt with Russia was entirely, you know, I think weak and probably has caused problems that we see right now in terms of encouraging Russia to act in this aggressive manner," Gallego said, according to the outlet.

Gallego, an Iraq War veteran who serves as a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he believes the crisis taking place in Ukraine could have been avoided if the country was a part of NATO.

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"The U.S. being involved now is actually probably the cheaper alternative to finding ourselves in a massive land war ... against an imperialistic Russia," Gallego said, adding that America has to "make a decision as a country" whether to do what is "morally right" and assist Ukraine.

U.S. President Barack Obama chats with Russia's President Vladimir Putin prior to a working session at the Group of 20 (G20) leaders summit in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, Turkey, November 16, 2015. (REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/Pool)

"Are we going to do what's morally right, which is helping a independent, sovereign democratic country defend itself? Or are we going to, you know, I would say, turn in our card as leaders of the free and democratic world in the hopes of saving some votes in the future," Gallego questioned.

Now totaling 30 countries, NATO was established in 1949 by the United States and 11 other Western countries seeking to protect themselves from the then-Soviet Union.