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Macron, Johnson meet in Paris to discuss Brexit issues

PARIS, Aug 22 (KUNA) -- French President Emmanuel Macron held talks in Paris Thursday with British Premier Boris Johnson mainly to discuss ongoing obstacles to Britain's exit from the European Union (Brexit) on October 31.
Both leaders differed on core positions, particularly on the Irish border "backstop" to prevent re-imposing a frontier between Northern Ireland, under British sovereignty, and the independent Republic of Ireland.
The Brexit agreement signed by London and Brussels would prevent a hard border between the two Irelands, a move believed essential to avoid trade disputes and a downward impact on the Irish economy, but also needed to prevent a resumption of violence between pro-British and pro-Irish populations in Northern Ireland.
Before a fragile peace declared in 1998, 3,600 people died in three decades of violence that erupted in 1968 as the Irish Republican and Catholic community pushed for equal civil rights with those enjoyed by the British-allied Protestant and Royalist community.
"I want to reach an agreement," Johnson said in a joint press conference alongside Macron after their talks.
Johnson hinted at "technical" adjustments but gave no clear sign he would back away from his refusal to accept the "Irish Backstop." Johnson has threatened a "no deal" exit from the EU on October 31, meaning no final negotiations on many issues, including Ireland and finances. The EU is asking Britain to pay over Euros 36 billion as its contribution to agreed projects before Brexit.
For his part, Macron remained firmly convinced of the need to help protect the Irish border question, an agreement signed by former Premier Theresa May, but repudiated by Johnson since he took office weeks ago.
There are widespread fears that a hard border in Ireland would trigger unrest and the re-emergence of militias like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and their Protestant counterparts, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Those groups alone accounted for the bulk of killings in Northern Ireland and British forces accounted for about 25 percent of the fatalities.
John remarked that he was ready to discuss "alternatives" or adjustments to a hard border, but gave no specifics.
Johnson traveled to Berlin on Wednesday to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and told the press here he was "very encouraged" by those talks which intimated an agreement could be reached between Britain and the 27 remaining EU Nations in the coming weeks.
Macron, however, continued to support the "backstop" position but said there was room for movement, although he cautioned that the resolution of this Irish border question is needed "to preserve stability" in Ireland.
Despite the differing positions, both Macron and Johnson agreed that there should be further talks on Ireland and other questions in the coming month.
"I think we can get an agreement and a good agreement" in the next 30 days, Merkel to Johnson.
"The key elements are not just technical, but concern the stability of Ireland," Macron declared, adding that any agreement reached with Britain will "not be far from the fundamentals" of the original agreement signed by Prime Minister May. (end) jk.ss