Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday denied the existence of any state-sponsored doping programme in the country amid a series of doping allegations that have battered the country’s sports community.
Advertisement
Asked by the Press Association what his views on the looming vote are, Mr Putin suggested that the Prime Minister had called the referendum to “scare” Europe. To blackmail Europe? Or to scare it?
“I want to say it is none of our business, it is the business of the people of the UK. I have my opinion on the subject but I will not speak about it in advance”, he added, saying it was impossible to say what the result would be.
The president also stressed that Moscow will be forced to respond to Western encroachment despite the fact that it will be accused of “Russian aggression”, adding that it is important to maintain the strategic balance of forces.
“They explain how hard it is to live with the restrictions on fishing”. “The US government won’t be present at this forum at any level”, Toner told the Interfax news agency. “I am not even talking about missile defense systems”, Putin said.
Campaigning in the European Union referendum has been suspended following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed in the street outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds in West Yorkshire.
Advertisement
Earlier on Friday, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin proposed to create a large partnership between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and countries including India, Iran, Pakistan, as well as members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
