MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom is not going to abandon the "leading role" in the European affairs despite the recent country's vote to leave the European Union, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Monday.
"Leave the European Union… that in no sense means that we are leaving Europe, we are not in any way abandoning the leading role in the European cooperation, participation of all kinds," Johnson told reporters ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.
On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.
The United Kingdom is now expected to invoke Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty to initiate the formal process of withdrawal from the bloc and start talks with the EU leaders on the new format of their relations.
