Obama claims he had to 'drag' Europeans 'kicking and screaming' to respond to Russia's Crimea invasion

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Former President Obama said in an interview Thursday that he often had to force European countries into responding to Russian aggression.

In an interview with journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama claimed that he took proactive measures against Europe and needed to twist arms to get a similarly proportional response from European nations. Obama has been criticized for his soft stance on Russia throughout his presidency.

"As somebody who grappled with the incursion into Crimea and the Eastern portions of Ukraine, I have been encouraged by the European reaction," Obama said.

OBAMA'S DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE JAMES CLAPPER: I WISH WE WERE MORE AGGRESSIVE IN 2014

"Because in 2014, I often had to drag them kicking and screaming to respond in ways we would have wanted to see," he added.

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney predicted in 2012 that Russia was America’s "number one geopolitical foe," a comment that drew criticism from Obama. 

"A few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not al Qaeda," Obama said during the third presidential debate between him and Romney in October 2012. "And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years."

Former President Barack Obama looks on as President Biden speaks during an event about the Affordable Care Act at the White House, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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

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Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in February on CNN that he wished the Obama administration had done more to punish Russia for invading and annexing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks Oct. 21 ,2021, in Sochi, Russia. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

"I wish we as an administration had been more aggressive in 2014," Clapper said.