LONDON - Britain and the European Union traded ill-tempered barbs Tuesday as the U.K. said a Brexit deal might be impossible, while insisting it was still working for one with just over three weeks until its scheduled departure from the bloc.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office said EU intransigence had led to a breakdown in negotiations, prompting a top European leader to warn against playing a "stupid blame game" - and chide Johnson in Latin.
Johnson's office gave a gloomy assessment after his call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday morning.
In a statement to British media, Downing Street said Merkel had told Johnson that "a deal is overwhelmingly unlikely" unless the U.K. agreed to let Northern Ireland continue to follow EU customs rules in order to maintain an open border with EU member Ireland.
United Kingdom's Brexit advisor David Frost, left, and British Ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow arrive at EU headquarters for a technical meeting on Brexit at EU headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)That is something the British government says it can't accept. Downing Street said that "if this represents a new established position, then it means a deal is essentially impossible not just now but ever." How people and goods will move across the Irish border is the main sticking point to a deal.
The German government confirmed that Merkel and Johnson had spoken but declined to comment on the substance of "confidential conversations."
European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said "the EU position has not changed. We want a deal. We are working for a deal with the U.K."
European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted testily that "what's at stake is not winning some stupid blame game."
"At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people," he said, addressing Johnson. "You don't want a deal, you don't want an extension, you don't want to revoke, quo vadis?" - a Latin phrase meaning "where are you going?"