MOSCOW (Sputnik) — After the public vote in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union other EU member states are unlikely to exit the bloc, Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said on Monday.
"After that apparent shock the European Union suffered the remaining 27 countries are likely to seek a closer union, to close ranks and to prevent further collapse of the European Union," Chizhov said.
He added that the political forces in Europe that advocated various countries leaving the bloc were not in the majority in any EU member state.
On June 23, the British public voted to leave the European Union, with 51.9 supporting the move. Immediately after the Brexit vote, UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he would resign. His successor, who could be the one to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, a legal framework for leaving the European Union, is expected to take up office by October.
