The former German chancellor Helmut Kohl has warned European Union leaders not to act in haste following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
Mr Kohl, who was a key figure in Germany’s reunification in the 1990s, said Britain must be given time to react to the vote and decide what the next step is.
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Mr Kohl, who is 86 and in poor health, warned against acting with unnecessary severity and haste.
The newspaper did not quote Mr Kohl directly, but in an article titled “Helmut Kohl – Europe needs to pause for breath”, he was indirectly quoted as saying it would be a “giant mistake” to slam the door on Britain.
As German chancellor, Mr Kohl was hailed as a key architect of European unification, and was in office during Germany’s reunification and the introduction of the euro.
In the interview Mr Kohl also called on EU leaders to show greater respect to individual nations and regional identities.
Mr Kohl’s intervention will frustrate some EU leaders, who have called for a rapid end to Britain’s membership of the bloc.
But a power vacuum in Britain means the government is not currently in a position to negotiate with EU leaders in any case.
Following the UK’s Brexit vote, Britain has been embroiled in a tumultuous period of political uncertainty.
Immediately after the referendum result Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation and refused to trigger article 50 – the means by which the country formally begins its withdrawal from the UK.
His departure has led to a Conservative Party leadership race which front runner and leading Leave campaigner Boris Johnson said he would not contest.
The UK also faces a fresh threat of Scottish secession, after Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon called for a second referendum after Scots voted by 62% to 38% to remain in the EU.
Meanwhile the Labour Party is also in the throes of a leadership coup after almost all of Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet resigned following what they described as an “uninspiring” campaign to remain in the EU.
