Brexit's impact on EU, EU-Russia relations important - Lavrov

MOSCOW - Brexit is the internal affair of the United Kingdom, but Russia cares about its impact on the European Union and bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"As for Brexit, this is the affair of the United Kingdom, its citizens and subjects, and the British parliament. Of course, we care about the impact it would have on the European Union," Sergei Lavrov said.

The EU is a major trade partner of Russia, and their trade turnover currently stands at $270 billion despite sanctions, he said.

"Of course, we care about the events unfolding in the European Union in connection with Brexit; there are many processes that will affect the EU's operation, and we need to know how they might impact our relations, primarily trade and economic ones," Sergei Lavrov said.

Russia is ready to cooperate with both the European Union and the United Kingdom if the latter follows withdraws from the EU, but the forms in which this will be done will depend on the situation, Russian Foreign Minister said.

"Let's wait and see what happens. Naturally, we will stand ready to cooperate with both the European Union and the United Kingdom if the United Kingdom ends up withdrawing from the EU. But we'll decide in what forms it's best to do this once we've seen what actually happens," Sergei Lavrov said.