Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attends a cabinet meeting hosted by Theresa May at the Prime Minister's country retreat Chequers in Buckinghamshire to discuss department-by-department Brexit action plans, Britain August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Stefan Rousseau/P
London: Spokesperson for the Office of the British Prime Minister (10 Downing Street ) said that Brexit talks will go ahead as planned.
During a phone call, UK Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed there would be no change in the Brexit timetable and talks would begin in the coming weeks, the Spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that "The Prime Minister confirmed her intention for Brexit talks to begin as planned in the next couple of weeks, and that we would be looking for a reciprocal agreement on the rights of EU citizens and British citizens abroad at an early stage," according to (The Sun).
The news comes after Merkel said the negotiations should go ahead as scheduled, despite the uncertainty caused by the UK's General Election resulting in a hung Parliament.
Speaking in Mexico, Merkel told a news conference: "We are ready for the negotiations. We want to do it quickly, respecting the calendar.
"We were waiting for the election in Britain, but in the next few days these talks will begin. We will defend the interests of the 27 member states, and Britain will defend its own interests," she said.
"At the same time, we say that we want to remain a good partner to Britain. Britain is part of Europe, even if it will no longer be part of the European Union," Merkel added.
May called the snap election supposedly to "strengthen her hand" in the Brexit negotiations in the hope and expectation the Conservatives would increase their majority. However, the Conservatives lost their majority and were forced to negotiate with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a government.
