Edinburgh: Scotland's government has said that it wants immediate discussions with European Union in order to protect its position in the bloc.
Scottland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that she would seek direct talks with the EU leadership and presumably with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk and the president of the European Parliament Martin Schulz in the coming week.
She was speaking after a cabinet meeting to discuss the Scottish government's response to Britain's Brexit vote.
Interestingly, Sturgeon stopped short of announcing a second independence referendum.
"We will seek to enter discussions with EU institutions and EU member states for all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU. In doing so, we are determined to draw on as much support from across Scotland as possible," she said, speaking outside Bute House in Edinburgh.
Earlier in the day she had said a second independence referendum was "highly likely" and that it was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland faced the prospect of being taken out of the EU against its will.
The historic referendum, nicknamed "Brexit", on Thursday saw Scotland, London and Northern Ireland vote in favour of "Remain", while England and Wales backed "Leave".
Scotland voted in favour of Britain staying in the EU by 62 per cent to 38 per cent, but the UK as a whole voted to leave by a margin of 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent.
