Britain reiterates willingness to talk over Brexit deal

The British government said on Tuesday that it wants to negotiate a new Brexit deal with Brussels amid accusations that there is "no basis" for such talks momentarily.

A 10 Downing Street spokesperson told Xinhua via email that: "The PM wants to meet EU (European Union) leaders and negotiate a new deal -- one that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop."

"We will throw ourselves into the negotiations with the greatest energy and the spirit of friendship and we hope the EU will rethink its current refusal to make any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement," the spokesperson added.

"The fact is the Withdrawal Agreement has been rejected by Parliament three times and will not pass in its current form so -- if the EU wants a deal -- it needs to change its stance. Until then, we will continue to prepare to leave the EU on 31 October," the spokesperson said.

The latest comments came after the EU said Britain's demands to remove the Irish backstop from Theresa May's deal were unacceptable.

A senior EU official was quoted as saying that there was currently "no basis" for "meaningful discussions" and talks were back where they were three years ago.

The withdrawal agreement negotiated by May has been rejected three times by the British parliament.

Britain is set to leave the EU by Oct. 31.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to leave the EU by the deadline with or without a deal.