ANAS Sarwar has suggested that Vladimir Putin would welcome Scottish independence.
Sarwar had been speaking at an event in London on Monday when he was discussing the constitutional future of Scotland and the UK.
And the Scottish Labour party leader claimed it was “pretty obvious” that Putin would be happy with Nicola Sturgeon’s renewed campaign for independence.
He said: "I think he would support anything which is damaging to his enemies."
Sarwar said that in the midst of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it was a bad idea for the UK to be projecting an “inward-looking” image.
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He went on to make the case for Scotland to be part of an “outward-looking international community” that stands against Putin.
He said: “Vladimir Putin wants to damage our role and who he regards as his enemies in the world.
“He wants to damage the institutions that stand up to him, he wants to damage the institutions that help to keep global peace and justice, yes, in Ukraine, but also in the wider world.
“And I don’t think at a time when we have despotic leaders like Vladimir Putin we should be projecting an inward-looking UK, I think we should be projecting a united, diverse, changing, modern, reforming, outward-looking international community and I think Scotland should be part of that."
This is not the first time a Unionist has invoked Putin's feelings on Scottish independence. Back in 2014, it was reported that David Cameron appealed to Putin to support the Better Together campaign. But the Russian president rebuffed Cameron saying it was a "domestic issue".
Sarwar also made the case for a “legal duty of cooperation” between the UK and Scottish Governments which he says would "ensure they work together where they can and not against each other”.
In an event that was dominated by constitutional discussion, Sarwar also argued for the abolition of the House of Lords and that it be replaced with an elected Senate.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer is set to make the case for maintaining Boris Johnson’s hard Brexit as he ruled out returning to the customs union if Labour got into power.
The SNP have been contacted for comment.
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