Russia Gives UK No Grounds to Believe Moscow Supports Brexit - Envoy to EU

Russia's ambassador to the European Union said that Russia does not give the United Kingdom any grounds to believe that it would support it leaving the European Union.

ST PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Russia does not give the United Kingdom any grounds to believe that it would support it leaving the European Union, but a Brexit may improve Moscow-London relations, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the European Union told Sputnik on Friday.

"Some may think so, but there are no grounds for this," Chizhov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), when asked why London thought Moscow backed Brexit.

If the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union, Russia would form relations with it as a country that is not a member of the bloc, according to Chizhov.

"The United Kingdom always held a special place in the European Union, it is not a Schenhen or a euro member state, so it was always somewhat independent," the diplomat said.

When asked whether a Brexit would signify an improvement of relations for London and Moscow, Chizhov said that "expecting the United Kingdom to join the Eurasian Economic Union straight away would be an exaggeration. But overall, we shall see, it takes two to tango."