Negotiations to secure an orderly Brexit deal will go down to the wire after Theresa May said she would return to Brussels for more talks on the eve of a planned signing summit.
After an inconclusive trip to Brussels to meet EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker, the British prime minister Wednesday said she would return on Saturday to finalise preparations for a full EU meeting the next day.
This implies that the texts of the deal will not be final before a meeting of top EU diplomats - the summit's so-called "sherpas" - on Friday, and will frustrate some European leaders.
"There are some further issues that need resolution. We have given direction to our negotiators this evening. The work on those issues will now start immediately," May said in a statement.
"I believe we have been able to give sufficient direction for them to be able to resolve those remaining issues," she said, adding that she would meet Juncker again on Saturday.
With less than four days until Sunday's meeting, a European Commission spokesperson said: "Very good progress was made in meeting between President Juncker and Prime Minister Theresa May." But she added: "Work is continuing."
"I hope it will be solved by Sunday," she told German lawmakers. "We know how difficult the discussions are in Britain, but I can say for the German government that we agree with this exit agreement."