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LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will
warn British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to renege on the
Northern Ireland Brexit deal when they meet for the first time
at the G7 summit this week, The Times reported on Monday, citing
unidentified sources.
Preserving the delicate peace in Northern Ireland without
allowing the United Kingdom a back door into the EU’s markets
through the 310-mile (500 km) UK-Irish land border was one of
the most difficult issues of the Brexit divorce talks.
The riddle was resolved, in part, by the Northern Ireland
Protocol of the Brexit deal. But, unionists in the province say
it contravenes the 1998 peace deal and Britain has said the
Protocol is unsustainable in its current form.
Biden, who is proud of his Irish heritage, will use a
meeting with Johnson on Thursday to explicitly express U.S.
support for the Protocol. He will also warn that the prospects
of a U.S. trade deal with the United Kingdom will be damaged if
the situation remains unresolved, The Times said.
Biden will also make it clear to the European Union that he
expects it to stop being “bureaucratic” and adopt a more
flexible approach to the implementation of the agreement, The
paper said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)