As the Scottish government pushes on with its bid to hold a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom, with a hearing scheduled at the British Supreme Court on October 11 and 12, Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs Angus Robertson has told FRANCE 24 that his government is "not giving up". "We want friends in Europe to understand that we are in favour of a legal, constitutional route to independence. When it comes to that stage, we look forward to working with European nations," he explained.
The Cabinet Secretary added that "Brexit... is bad for Scotland and for the UK. It's damaging, it undermines our economic situation and our link with the rest of Europe".
Robertson also reacted to the recent comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which have been widely interpreted as a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons. "We're dealing with our neighbourhood bully in Vladimir Putin. He's losing, he deserves to lose, Ukraine must win. The Scottish government is in total agreement with the UK government in standing up to our neighbourhood bully, supporting Ukraine and providing them with the military means to defend themselves," he said.
Produced by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Sophie Samaille
