No sudden change expected in British position after Brexit - Envoy to UN

The United Kingdom is not leaving the world stage even it has officially launched Brexit procedure, said its envoy to the United Nations on Wednesday, adding that there will be no sudden change in British position even after it leaves the European Union following the negotiations.

"The UK (United Kingdom) is leaving the EU (European Union) but is not leaving Europe. We are not leaving the world stage," China's Xinhua news agency reported Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations as saying at outside the Security Council as he was briefing reporters as the council's rotating president in March.

Rycroft noted that the UK's presence on the world stage is "in many ways represented here, at the Security Council."

He said that even after the negotiations with other EU members which expects to last two years or so, there will not be a sudden change in the British interest.

"You will not be seeing a sudden change in British values. You will not be seeing a sudden change in the British position on many, on most of the issues which come before the Security Council and indeed other parts of the United Nations."

"The UK will continue to be a permanent member of the Security Council and a leading player on international development, human rights, and everything else that the United Nations does," he added.

Britain officially launched Wednesday a historic exit procedure from the European Union, nine months after a referendum resulting in the decision to leave the bloc. -- Bernama