MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon may call a new referendum on the independence from the United Kingdom in 2018 as the UK government is unlikely to engage her in the Brexit talks, former Scottish leader Alex Salmond said.
Salmond led the campaign to leave the United Kingdom in 2014, however Scotland was among the main pro-remain areas of the country in the Brexit referendum held in September.
“I expect there will be a Scottish referendum in roughly two years’ time,” Salmond told the RT broadcaster in an interview.
According to Salmond, Sturgeon will attempt to keep Scotland within the EU single market and to be part of the Brexit negotiations with the bloc, while the UK government “will not be flexible or wise enough to do that.”
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the 28-nation bloc. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it. Scotland backed staying in the European Union by 62 to 38 percent.