Good news! Theresa May has a backer for her Brexit deal. Bad news: it's Putin
'Baby if you've got to go away, I don't think I can take the pain'
Embattled Theresa May finally found somebody willing to back her Brexit deal today - Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Putin used his annual televised press conference to say the UK should not hold a second referendum insisting May must 'fulfil the will of the people'.
The president said he 'understood' May's position in 'fighting for this Brexit', adding: "The referendum was held. What can she do? She has to fulfil the will of the people expressed in the referendum.'
He went on to criticise the idea of a second referendum or People's Vote', saying: 'Was it not a referendum?'
He added: 'Someone disliked the result, so repeat it over and over? Is this democracy? What then would be the point of the referendum in the first place?'
You may also want to watch:
Putin told the press conference he met briefly with May at last month's G20 meeting in Argentina, describing the bilateral relationship as 'deadlocked'.
'Are we interested in restoring the fully-fledged relationship with Britain?," he said. "Yes, and I think Britain is too. Especially the business community.
Most Read
- 1 Could Mexican Coke spark a new Coca-Cola cold war?
- 2 A view from inside the Heathrow petri dish
- 3 The truth about 'buy British'
- 4 Liz Truss accused of freeports 'catastrophic blunder' following Brexit deals
- 5 The man the Soviet Union left in space
- 6 Downing Street announces plans to change English voting system following string of Labour victories
- 7 Why can't the English see what the Scots and Welsh can?
- 8 Labour should never have swallowed the Brexit pill
- 9 Sadiq Khan re-elected as London mayor as Laurence Fox loses £10k deposit
- 10 Noel Clarke: The man who would not take no for an answer
"There are a lot of British flagship companies here. BP, for example... operates in the Russian market and wants to stay here. And it is not only them. I hope that common sense prevails."
Labour MP Ian Murray, a backer of the anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain, said: "Finally, Theresa May has found a backer for her deal.
"But when Vladimir Putin is trying to give her lessons on democracy, you know that the Prime Minister has made a catastrophic error of judgement.
"Rather than agree with Putin's propaganda, the true democratic option is to give the people a final say on whether they still want to leave the EU."
Become a Supporter
The New European is proud of its journalism and we hope you are proud of it too. We believe our voice is important - both in representing the pro-EU perspective and also to help rebalance the right wing extremes of much of the UK national press. If you value what we are doing, you can help us by making a contribution to the cost of our journalism.
