UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has jumped at the opportunity to again bring up the issue of Brexit at the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz. According to scholars, Johnson is seeking to strengthen ties between the US and the Commonwealth ahead of the 31 October deadline.
After calling on the EU to scrap the Irish border backstop from the Withdrawal Agreement, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson went further, stating during the final day of the G7 summit that in case of a no-deal Brexit, the UK would withhold much of the £39 billion divorce bill and spend it domestically.
My message to G7 leaders this week is this: the Britain I lead will be an international, outward-looking, self-confident nation. 🇬🇧 #G7 #TeamUK pic.twitter.com/Jm5LDjCW6e
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 25, 2019
He predicted that that “free trade deals will also be pushed by UK with other major British Commonwealth countries such as Canada and Australia”.
Trump reiterated Monday during his final presser that “this is the right time for Boris [Johnson]” to be prime minister. The US president added that he had told the British premier that he had “been waiting for him to be prime minister for about 6 years.”