Asked if Scotland could be a way to stay within the United Kingdom and the EU, while England and Wales left the EU, Sturgeon said: “My position is [that] there might be”.
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Sturgeon also said Prime Minister Theresa May’s comments on Friday, saying Britain would not trigger formal divorce talks with the European Union until a “UK approach” had been agreed, gives her a strong bargaining position.
Nicola Sturgeon has suggested she has a veto over when Britain triggers the formal process of leaving the EU.
Although Mrs May campaigned for Britain to remain within the European Union – and suggested before taking the reins at Downing Street that she would not invoke Article 50 this year – two of her cabinet ministers tasked with leading Britain out of the European Union have indicated that they would like to see a much speedier timetable.
“That certainly appeared to be an interpretation that some put on the Prime Minister’s remarks after the meeting”, she told the Andrew Marr show.
In a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this week, Mrs May said Article 50, which initiates the UK’s departure from the European Union, would not be invoked without a “UK-wide approach” being agreed.
The SNP leader has previously said a second referendum on Scottish independence is now highly likely because voters north of the border rejected Brexit in the June 23 vote.
Ms Sturgeon has set up an expert group to look at the options for protecting Scotland’s place in Europe.
He said: “I don’t think that works”.
“If you are asking me right now, do I think Theresa May will never ever trigger Article 50 unless I am saying to her I am absolutely happy with the direction that the United Kingdom is taking, I don’t know that that is the case, but what she did seem to indicate is that she wants, as I want, to see if we can find options that respect how Scotland voted”.
The first minister said that in Brussels she had encountered “a warmth, an openness a great sympathy to the position Scotland finds itself in”.
“It puts me in a strong position, of course it puts a responsibility on my shoulders to think through what the options are”.
Asked if the European Union may put aside its own rules and act politically to keep Scotland in, she said: “I do think that mood is there, and what I encountered in Brussels was a warmth, an openness, a great sympathy to the position that Scotland finds itself in”.
Sturgeon has previously said Scotland could effectively veto the UK’s departure from the EU.
She said: “My position is there might be”.
They can’t have a veto – there are 17.5 million people who have given us a mandate.
“We undoubtedly do need a vote in Parliament”, the Tory MP told BBC One’s Sunday Politics.
The former Andrea Leadsom supporter said the new PM had his “unqualified support” but added ‘I do believe the pressure will mount for us to move far more quickly on this’.
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“I’m willing to listen to options and I’ve been very clear with the First Minister today that I want the Scottish government to be fully engaged in our discussion”, said May, following the meeting.
