(Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin on Friday evening and discussed progress in UK-EU trade negotiations, the UK government said, at a time when differences remained with the EU on a Brexit trade deal.
On the call, Johnson stressed his commitment to reach a deal that respects the sovereignty of the country, the government said in a statement https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-irish-taoiseach-27-november-2020.
The leaders also reaffirmed the need to prioritise the 1998 Good Friday peace deal and avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. The deal effectively ended Northern Ireland's 30 years of sectarian violence and created institutions for cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland.
On Wednesday, the Ireland prime minister had said that there was still time for a "good result" in trade talks.
The leaders also discussed their respective efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and measures taken ahead of Christmas.
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(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)
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