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Future of Russia-UK relations uncertain after May’s resignation, says MP

Russian MP Leonid Slutsky said that "the three-year period of May’s tenure as prime minister was destructive for Russian-UK relations"

British Prime Minister Theresa May AP Photo/Alastair Grant

British Prime Minister Theresa May

© AP Photo/Alastair Grant

MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. Russia has to be careful when making predictions about the future of its relations with the UK after the exit of Prime Minister Theresa May, Russian MP Leonid Slutsky told reporters on Friday.

"In this context, we have to be rather careful when talking about further prospects of the relations between Moscow and London. We hope that the situation won’t get worse, because it cannot possibly get worse," Slutsky told reporters on Friday.

According to him, "the three-year period of May’s tenure as prime minister was destructive for Russian-UK relations." "She was the one to introduce the "highly likely" principle, which has served as a precedent for the biggest international diplomatic scandal and another wave of anti-Russian sanctions based on fake news and unfounded accusations. The far-fetched interpretation of the so-called Skripal poisoning story by the UK government has undermined the norms of international law, causing enormous damage to the cooperation with Russia in many areas," he stressed.

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British PM May to resign on June 7

The Russian MP added that May’s resignation had been predicted for a while, and "it wasn’t a surprise." "Her resignation is a result of the domestic policy crisis, the crisis within the party and the situation around Brexit," he concluded.

Earlier on Friday, Theresa May declared she had made up her mind to step down as the leader of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party on June 7. She vowed to perform the prime minister’s duties until a new Tory leader was elected. The process of electing a new leader of the Conservative Party will begin on June 10. May has notified Queen Elizabeth II of her plans.

According to the British media’s estimates, the election of a new Tory leader may last six weeks.

The main reason that prompted May to take such a decision was her failure to persuade the UK parliament give the go-ahead to the Brexit terms agreement with the European Union. May encountered firm resistance from her own Cabinet of Ministers to the latest Brexit-related proposals, put forward in a bid to secure the MPs’ consent.

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