German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth
Germany wants British Prime Minister Theresa May to come up with constructive ideas and take responsibility for getting her supporters to back a final Brexit deal, European Affairs Minister Michael Roth said on Tuesday.
As he arrived for a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg, Roth told reporters that Berlin was aware that May had difficulties in getting a parliamentary majority but that the EU had limited room for manoeuvre to go any further toward the British position on avoiding a hard border for Northern Ireland.
Asked what his message to May would be, Roth said: "Take responsibility and be constructive."
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said on Tuesday that the Netherlands was hoping for a deal on Britain's orderly exit from the European Union but he added his country was also preparing for a no-deal scenario."We hope for a negotiated Brexit," he told reporters at an EU ministers' meeting in Luxembourg which will discuss Brexit ahead of a EU leaders' summit on Wednesday and Thursday."At the same time we hope for the best and we prepare for the worst. So we also prepare for a hard Brexit," Blok said.He also said that he hoped there will be an extraordinary summit of EU leaders on Brexit in November, as this would mean that a deal was close. British, Turkish foreign ministers meet in LondonUK parliament must fix culture of bullying, top officials may have to go: reportBritain believes there are ways to solve Brexit backstop
Dutch minister hopes for deal but prepares for hard Brexit
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in London Monday and discussed a range of issues.Among the topics addressed in their closed-door meeting was the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which Hunt said remains “deeply concerning”.“The UK fully supports the Turkish investigation into the incident as I reiterated in person to Mr. Cavusoglu today,” Hunt said.“We have been urging Saudi Arabia to cooperate fully with the investigation. There remain questions about the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi that only Saudi Arabia can answer.”Hunt said the UK welcomes Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agreement yesterday to establish a joint working group to look into the matter.He also said they welcome Saudi Arabia’s decision to ask the prosecutor general to establish an internal investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance and hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it.On Saturday, Çavuşoğlu said Turkey expected cooperation from Saudi officials.Turkish and Saudi officials arrived earlier Monday at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul for a joint probe into Khashoggi's case.On the same day Khashoggi went missing, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Çavusoğlu and Hunt also talked about bilateral and regional relations, the agreement between Turkey and Russia to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria, the fight against terrorism and Brexit, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.A British Foreign Office statement said Hunt “raised the situation in Syria, stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of civilians in Idlib and commended Turkey for hosting over 3.6 million refugees”.Turkey slams developed nations over migration issuePompeo to visit Turkey after Riyadh over KhashoggiTurkish, US army chiefs meet in Washington
British, Turkish foreign ministers meet in London