"We will be witnesses to EU's disintegration"

"We will be witnesses to EU's disintegration"

Engdahl was speaking for the Belgrade-based daily Vecernje Novosti in an exclusive interview.

Will Erdogan and Putin stay on the same side after these events, and how might the fact that Turkey is a NATO member affect that?

- Let's first see how further negotiations on Gazprom's gas pipeline and other issues will go, in particular how the situation in Syria will develop. Russia has asked Erdogan to stop supporting terrorists in Syria. At this time Washington is in a dilemma because they need Turkey urgently as a NATO base for Syria, and beyond. Erdogan is at a point of no return. We'll see very soon whether he will dare to take Turkey out of NATO. The stakes are now high for all the players - for Russia, for Assad, for Erdogan, and for the United States.

How might the events and the consequences of the coup in Turkey affect the European Union, especially after the recent Brexit?

- I am convinced that we will be eyewitnesses to the disintegration of the EU as a political creation. What will follow is THE liberation of countries from this alliance, for which a project existed in the U.S. as far back as in 1950, with the goal of controlling Europe. Today, the EU is like a monster on behalf of which nameless bureaucrats are deciding on all aspects of our lives, from one minute to the next. Charles de Gaulle had a far better concept - nation-states cooperating, negotiating on common issues, but remaining sovereign in every aspect. Italy is a ripe candidate to leave the EU, as is Hungary, and soon maybe even France if Le Pen gets greater support. Then everything will unravel very quickly. The reaction against Brussels has just begun. Euro the currency is a complete failure. The economy in Europe is being destroyed on behalf of several major international banks, some of which are on Wall Street. It is up to citizens of Europe to decide what their future will be.

Europe is burning in a fire of terrorism. How long do you predict Islamic State will last?

- Their duration depends on the sources that finance and train them. Until now that has been Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey until recently. If the money dries up, I think the fanaticism will, too.

In light of all these events, what kind of outcome awaits the Balkans?

- Well, we saw what the EU and NATO have to offer to the Balkans, and it is neither particularly good, nor nice.

Does Serbia have the strength to remain a leader in the region?

- Leadership depends on Serbia itself, on what it will be guided by, and what it will offer to others. If Serbia were to follow its fate toward the East, it really could play a leading role in the region. After 1999 I visited Croatia many times and I had the opportunity to see that their accession to the EU destroyed the economy. Now - oh the irony - they're a member of NATO, after NATO and the United States tore Yugoslavia apart by war in the 1990s."

What would be most beneficial for Serbia?

- My wish would be that Serbia, which has endured incredible difficulties throughout history, finds a strategy to progress outside of NATO. I was in Serbia, and I can say that you are a wonderful people with an extraordinary history.

For several years, you have been pointing out in your books and in forums that the world is at a turning point...

- The U.S. dominance in political, cultural and economic terms is falling apart. It did not last for more than seven decades. On the horizon is what I like to call the Eurasian century. China, Russia, perhaps Iran, in some way now perhaps Turkey, too - they are engaged in humankind's major infrastructure projects. Fast rail links are growing across Central Asia, creating new markets where they never existed before, developing vast gold resources that give solid support to their currencies. What is our choice? If you ask me, I will paraphrase Horace Greeley: Go East, young man!"