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Putin denies suggestions Russia would welcome Brexit

“If we continue to act according to this logic, stirring up tensions and building up forces to scare each other, we will eventually get to another Cold War”, Putin said in an address to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

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He said: “Who can predict it?”

He said Brexit “is not our affair” and expressed his wish that British voters will be “well-informed and understand the consequences” of a possible European Union exit as they cast their vote.

“I have my own opinion on this matter, I can not talk about the result yet – no one knows about the result yet, I think it is 50-50 with a certain margin of error”.

But political commentators in Britain have speculated that Mr Putin would rub his hands with glee if the vote was for leave on June 23.

“I think I’d possibly have a good relationship”.

“I have always felt that Russian Federation and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect”, Trump said in December.

Vladimir Putin said that he believes nations should welcome as many migrants as they can afford supporting. “If you have to weigh all these things it is very complicated”.

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The Russian leader urged Washington not to exert pressure on the European Union in its cooperation with Russia, while vowing that the Kremlin is ready to work with any US president to be elected. The bloc on Friday prolonged separate measures targeting individuals and businesses linked to Russia’s annexation of Crimea for a year as the Russian leader was speaking. He told Zakaria he was probably “impulsive” when making that comment. Trump has repeatedly said Putin has called him a “genius” as recently as Thursday night during a rally in Dallas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin right and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi hold a joint news conference at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg Russia Friday