(BBC) You don't have to be British to have an opinion on Brexit. In recent weeks a string of world leaders have expressed their views on the UK's EU referendum. And the vast majority of them back Britain remaining in the EU. "If the countries that are closest to you, those who you have a special relationship with, are suggesting you might be better off staying in this relationship with Europe, it's worth paying attention," said US President Barack Obama. "The United Kingdom needs Europe and Europe needs the United Kingdom," said European Council President Donald Tusk. And what has Russian President Vladimir Putin said about Brexit? […]
"If there's a Brexit, if there's a crisis in the European Union, this will be a local propaganda victory," claims Prof Sergei Medvedev from Moscow's Higher School of Economics. He believes the Kremlin's calculation is a simple one: Brexit = a weaker EU = a stronger Russia. "Moscow sees everything as a zero sum game," Prof Medvedev says.
"So, what's bad for the European Union is good for Russia. It's as simple as that. They don't think further, about the EU being their biggest trading partner, about the question of visa-free travel, that there'll be bigger transaction costs for Russian business. No, they don't think in this way: it's either/or."
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