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| Newly appointed UK prime minster Boris Johnson. Photo: Reuters. |
Newly appointed UK prime minster Boris Johnson has reportedly spoken with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar by telephone, RTE reported on Tuesday.
During the conversation, Mr Johnson told PM Varadkar that the UK government would approach any negotiations with 'determination and energy and in a spirit of friendship'.
The UK prime minister said during the talks that the UK would never put physical checks or infrastructure on the Irish border, as well as stressed that the UK's clear preference was to leave the European Union with a deal, but that any deal struck between London and Brussels must "abolish the backstop".
The British PM also said that the UK would leave the EU by 31 October "no matter what", but Mr Varadkar responded by stating that the EU was "united" in its view that the withdrawal agreement "could not be reopened".
The Irish PM also told Mr Johnson that alternative arrangements could replace the backstop in the future, but satisfactory options "had yet to be identified" thus far, adding that Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement required the sovereign government to "exercise power with rigorous impartiality".
The British Prime Minister is currently on a tour of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England to campaign for the UK government's no-deal preparations should Brussels and London fail to negotiate on a deal by the 31 October deadline.
Mr Johnson, who is aiming to mend ties between the four British countries, has called the backstop "anti-democratic" and pledged to spend £300m to boost economic growth across the UK. But responses to his proposals have been lukewarm, with Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon writing in an letter last week that she wanted her country to prepare an "alternative option" to Mr Johnson's alternative arrangements on the Irish backstop, namely a second vote on Scottish independence.
