- Title: Germany's Maas doesn't rule out short Brexit extension
- Date: 21st October 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (OCTOBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS AND HIS COUNTERPART FROM BELARUS, VLADIMIR MAKEI ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, HEIKO MAAS, SAYING (on BREXIT): "I hope that the British lower house, showing the necessary responsibility, can take a decision on this today and that on the basis of this decision we will be in a position to achieve an orderly Brexit which will be challenging enough. Should there be problems in Britain with the ratification, I would not rule out that there could be a short, technical extension should there not be a majority in the British lower house." MAAS SPEAKING MAAS' HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, HEIKO MAAS, SAYING (on BREXIT): "Whether there would then be a full extension we will have to look at within the European Union and only then would there be a decision about that. At the moment, I don't think it is sensible or appropriate to speculate about that." SIDE SHOT OF MAAS SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, HEIKO MAAS, SAYING (on TURKEY): "The German government's position on Turkey's military offensive in northeastern Syria is well known: we believe it is not legitimised by international law and therefore it must not continue. We demand that all possibilities be explored for political solutions once the five-day ceasefire is over and this is something we have again told the Turkish side yesterday." PHOTOGRAPHERS VARIOUS OF BELARUS FOREIGN MINISTER VLADIMIR MAKEI SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) BELARUS FOREIGN MINISTER, VLADIMIR MAKEI, SAYING (on UKRAINE CRISIS): "Germany can count on Belarus' decisiveness to continue to make its contribution towards the end of the Ukraine crisis, such as through the provision of meeting places in Minsk as part of the Normandy format and the tri-lateral OSCE Contact Group." MAKEI AND MAAS SHAKING HANDS
- Embargoed: 4th November 2019 10:36
- Keywords: Brexit Germany's foreign minister Belarus Turkey Minsk process Ukraine crisis Syria Vladimir Makei Heiko Maas military offensive
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001B21IERR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Germany's foreign minister said he hoped British lawmakers would vote on Monday to proceed with an orderly Brexit, adding that he could imagine a short extension to Britain's departure from the European Union if London needed the time to pass legislation.
"I hope that the British lower house, showing the necessary responsibility, can take a decision on this today and that on the basis of this decision we will be in a position to achieve an orderly Brexit," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Berlin.
"Should there not be a majority in the British lower house, then we in the European Union would have to look at whether there would then be a full extension - and only then would there be a decision about that. At the moment, I don't think it is sensible or appropriate to speculate about that," said Maas.
Asked to comment on Turkey's military offensive in northeastern Syria, Maas told reporters Germany's position was "well known" and that Berlin viewed it as incompatible with international law.
His comments came after a meeting with his counterpart from Belarus, Vladimir Makei who assured Germany it would continue to make its contribution towards ending the Ukraine crisis by hosting future talks in Minsk.
(Production: Holger Koerner, Stefan Remter, Michele Sani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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