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Ex-Ukrainian Prime Minister N Ya Azarov thought that Kiev should concentrate on solving domestic economic problems, instead of dreaming of European integration:
The result of the [Brexit] referendum has no relevance to the internal situation in the Ukraine. Our trade and economic relations with the UK are derisory. Besides, we’ve never gotten anything good from them, just empty talk. We have to think about how to get the Ukraine out of its present crisis. We aren’t moving towards the EU… we’re becoming Bangladesh. All this talk about European integration is make-believe.
In the UK referendum, the number of votes to leave the EU outweighed those favouring European integration. This led to a sharp drop in value of the UK Pound by 10 percent and pulled European stock indices into the red. After they counted the votes, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation.
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French President François Hollande commented on results of the UK Brexit referendum:
This event changes the situation in Europe. The EU will no longer be the same, and it’ll take us quite some time to take the measures to solve the emerging problems. It’ll take some time to bring it about, to put it into effect, for Europe will no longer be what it was before. We must recognise that the story has changed today; now, new events change the European situation.
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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said:
I hope that after it leaves the EU, the UK will continue to be a close partner.
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President V V Putin confided that the Brexit wouldn’t affect Western sanctions against Russia:
These sanctions didn’t start as a bilateral matter; we’ve only responded to measures taken against our country. I emphasise that if our partners ever want to engage in constructive dialogue with us, we’re ready, we want that, and we’d respond positively to positive actions. At the same time, other parties can’t expect Russia to do things over which it has no control.
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K I Kosachyov, head of the RF Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee told us:
If the British authorities decide to withdraw from the EU, it wouldn’t happen overnight. According to my calculations, it’d take about two years to carry out all necessary consultations, to prepare the measures to implement it, and start the actual process. After this transition period, they’d need another five years to complete it. It’d take seven years for a complete withdrawal of the UK from the EU.
After the positive outcome of the referendum in the UK, it’s likely to see further disintegration in the EU. It’s not right to gloat about it, as Europe continues to be one of Russia’s largest trading partners. Even in a time of sanctions, trade between the EU and Russia is 49 percent of the total, some 230 billion Euros (16.8 billion Roubles. 1.67 trillion Renminbi. 17.36 trillion INR. 255.7 billion USD. 332.5 billion CAD. 342 billion AUD. 186.9 billion UK Pounds) per year. I don’t share the simplistic view that if things get worse for them, it gets better for us. If the EU remains enmeshed in problems, mired in crisis, this’d affect our trade relations.
On 23 June, the UK held a referendum on whether to leave or stay in the EU. In the end, the “Leave” faction garnered nearly 17 million votes, or 52 percent of the total number of votes. The Remain” faction scored a little more than 15 million votes, only 48 percent. Against this background, world oil prices lost about 6 percent and the UK Pound weakened against the US Dollar.
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G A Zyuganov, the First Secretary of the KPRF Central Committee and KPRF Faction Leader in the RF Gosduma, told us:
The decision to withdraw from the EU taken by British citizens in the referendum showed that they weren’t willing to put up with the negative effects of globalisation. The Brussels bureaucracy engulfed them and they had to swallow its dictates; the English were the first to realise its dangers. The End of History didn’t happen, but it’s a new stage, where peoples pursue sovereign development and friendly relations with their neighbours. This is the beginning of the end of the EU, which acted as the big stick of American politicians, rather than harmonising relations.
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O A Tsaryov, former Peoples Deputy of the Ukrainian Verkhovnaya Rada, told us:
The Ukraine shouldn’t count on EU accession. After the UK referendum and its possible consequences, the EU might not even be around in a few years time. Once again, this emphasised that Kiev chose the wrong path. They sacrificed their economy’s stability in a quest for “European Integration”. Everything turned out to be in vain. They want to go where it’s already impossible to enter. They try to reassure themselves that it’s possible, that they can get into the EU eventually, but this “later” may never come, as the EU can’t survive. They lost their illusory “opportunity” to get the Ukraine into the EU.
24 June 2016
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The Irish government intends to start a process of reunification with Northern Ireland. The main instrument of such an action could be a referendum, both in the north of the island, which is part of the UK, and in the south in the Republic of Ireland itself. However, Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland Charlie Flanagan told the Daily Mail:
The referendum won’t be in the near future. A future united Ireland is in the interests of our citizens, but to hold a referendum at the same time that the British government negotiates its withdrawal from the EU would only cause division.
Ireland’s reunification would threaten the territorial integrity of the UK, as part of the latter is Northern Ireland. At the same time, the majority of people of Northern Ireland voted in favour of remaining in the EU, but the national vote went the other way, not taking them into account, which gave rise to even more talk about a possible referendum for independence from England.
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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the start of preparations for a referendum on independence from the UK. Firstly, the task is to develop a bill calling for such a referendum. This vote will be the second in recent years. In the previous referendum, the Scots voted by a whisker voted to keep Scotland in the UK. Talk about Scottish independence resumed immediately after the results of the referendum on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU became clear. According to the results of the last referendum, nearly 50 percent of Scots believed that the country should be independent. The Cabinet believe that this number increased over the last two years, especially, after the announcement that the UK is leaving the EU.
25 June 2016
LifeNews
Voices from Russia 
The Ukraine Anticipates a Coup in Spring 2018… and Other Forecasts
Tags: Aleksei Navalny, Aleksei Zhuravko, civil unrest, Donbass, Kseniya Sobchak, Nikolai Azarov, Novorossiya, political commentary, politics, Pyotr Poroshenko, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Ukrainian Civil War, war and conflict, Yuliya Timoshenko
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For the Ukraine, the past year was catastrophic in all respects… in the economy, in domestic politics, and internationally. The authorities in Kiev celebrate the USA’s commitment to supply Javelin ATGMs, but even they understand that their only use is to harm Russia. Most Ukrainian citizens can see that.
On the last day of the year, it’s customary to take stock and give forecasts for the future. Therefore, in my opinion, the simmering Maidan 2.0 won’t really amount to much of anything… it won’t affect things all that much, although it’ll bounce around throughout all of 2018. Remember how there was a tent city named after Yuliya Timoshenko in the centre of Kiev for months on end, full of homeless and tramps? Saakashvili’s Maidan will deteriorate in the same way. Closer to spring, I think that a coup is possible in the Ukraine, but Saakashvili won’t necessarily be its “tribune”.
Why can’t I name a leader of a possibly upcoming coup? The level of confidence in all Ukrainian politicians is already so abysmal that a “dark horse” could emerge in such a situation. Of course, the most controversial figure today who has a chance to oust Poroshenko is Yuliya Timoshenko. Actually, she has the highest rating [amongst politicians] in the country, but this doesn’t mean that the majority of citizens trust her. When society has a total distrust of all politicians, even a 5-6 percent approval rating looks like solid political capital. As they say, if you can’t catch a real fish, even a crawdad will do. In general, I don’t believe any of the political rankings that we have in the country today. Everything happens willy-nilly, political factions attempt this and that, you can try to redraw the political map as you will, you only need support from 3-4 percent of the people, thereby lessening the role of “leading” politicians. Right now, the Americans don’t have any reliable figure that they can use to pursue their war. They know Yuliya Timoshenko well; they have much that they could use to influence her, including threats of criminal prosecution. However, they know that Timoshenko is a cunning politician, so it’s unlikely they’d bet on her. As for the hype that the Americans would supposedly back a new leader like Vakarchuk… I don’t believe it.
Under such conditions, new leaders could appear in the country in 2018. However, unfortunately, those who could really pull the country out of its crisis have either left or they’ve simply withdrawn from politics; they don’t want to take part in the current insanity. I’m sure that former Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov could lead the country. Nevertheless, even if the people wanted him back, the present authorities wouldn’t let him return, even though he’s a politician who has stature generally, not only in the Ukraine. He’s considered trustworthy not only in the Ukraine, but also in Russia and in the West. He’s the best “compromise” figure; therefore, he’d be the most effective candidate. In these circumstances, to keep his position, Poroshenko could try to heat up the war in the Donbas to “unify an unbroken nation”. Nonetheless, the Ukraine would lose any military action, as it did in 2014. This’d lead to even greater squabbles between the factions of Poroshenko, Avakov, Turchinov, and others. I think that it’s a real danger that the Americans would try to export such political instability to Russia. Navalny and Sobchak are nothing more than reiterations of [the Americans’] Ukrainian machinations.
Finally, even in this holiday season, I’d like you to remember that somewhere, now, in the Donbass, many people, including kids and old people, huddle in their cellars, hiding from aggressor shellfire. Don’t forget that some guys, defenders of the Donbass, will wake up today, but they won’t live to see tomorrow, as they’d give their lives for Freedom and Truth in the fight against Evil! I don’t censure anyone for being happy and celebrating the holidays… I just ask you, my friends, not to forget that that’s there a war going on. Therefore, my main wish for next year is peace! I want peace in the Donbass, peace in the Ukraine, and peace in Russia! In 2019, there shouldn’t be any soldiers in the trenches or ordinary civilians hiding in basements!
Aleksei Zhuravko
31 December 2017
Antifashist
http://antifashist.com/item/ukrainu-zhdet-perevorot-k-vesne-2018-goda-i-drugie-prognozy.html