British Will Regret Leaving EU Due to Narrowed Economic Opportunities, Russia's Medvedev Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev believes that the United Kingdom will repeatedly regret leaving the European Union, as the island nation's economic opportunities have since narrowed.

"Now that the British have jumped out of the European Union, I think they will regret what they have done many times over. Because their economic opportunities have narrowed, they periodically experience shutdowns of production, enterprises, they lack something, there is an energy crisis. Therefore, those who jump out of integration associations, as a rule, regret it," Medvedev said in an interview with leading Russian media, including Sputnik.

Medvedev also touched upon some other international issues.

On US Model of Democracy and Afghanistan

The United States is trying to spread its own model of democracy around the world, but it is absolutely inapplicable in a number of countries, the politician said.

Commenting on the US actions in Afghanistan, Medvedev said that Afghanistan could have been turned "into a blooming garden" if the money spent over 20 years on it were used for completely different purposes and Washington did not try to impose its model of democracy.

"Firstly, if efforts were made for this, and, secondly, if our partners, in this case the United States, did not try to impose everywhere their own model of democracy, which they are trying to deliver around the world and which is absolutely inapplicable in a number of countries," Medvedev said.

According to Medvedev, the situation with drug trafficking in Afghanistan is extremely dramatic, and there were cases when NATO and the United States turned a blind eye to this. The official noted that since 2001 when the US sent troops to Afghanistan, drug traffic in the country had grown by about 40 times, calling the current situation "super-dramatic."

"Trillions of dollars have been spent, the population is still poor, very poor, and drug trafficking is growing. Moreover, we are aware of cases when the contingent present there, the international one, in fact, that of NATO, American, simply turned a blind eye to this," Medvedev said.

On Russia's Contacts With Taliban

Russia has contacts with the Taliban (the organisation is under UN sanctions for terrorism), but their recognition as a political force depends on their fulfillment of a number of obligations and efforts to fight terrorism, Dmitry Medvedev said.

"As for the general situation, it remains very complicated ... We have contacts with the Taliban, of course, this is natural. If we talk about their recognition as a political force, then there is such a general position regarding the formation of an inclusive government, regarding the fulfillment of a number of obligations that this government must fulfill, and, of course, the fight against terrorism," the politician explained.

On Coup Attempt in Kazakhstan

According to Medvedev, there are no prerequisites in Russia for events similar to those that took place in Kazakhstan earlier this month.

"I believe that we do not have any prerequisites for such events [as in Kazakhstan]. Firstly, because, in general, the majority of citizens of our country share the course pursued by the government, which is pursued by the president of the country...On the other hand, we have an effective state — I emphasize: an effective state — which is capable of responding to any manifestations of terrorist activity or any criminal attacks in general," Medvedev added.

This is confirmed by the recent voting for amendments to the country's basic law and in elections to legislative bodies, the official noted.