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100 Billion Euros Too Much for UK to Pay to EU For Brexit - Johnson

© REUTERS / Hannah McKayBritain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Britain October 3, 2017
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Britain October 3, 2017 - Sputnik International
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British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has commented on the Brexit negotiations, relations with Moscow and the Iran nuclear deal.

"Some of the sums that I heard spoken of were in my view were eye-watering… and they were far too high, now the figure I heard was 100 billion euros," he told the House of Commons.

According to media reports, the European Union could demand from the United Kingdom up to 100 billion euros ($119 billion) as a final payment.

The minister added that it was up to the European Union to look at the UK's offer on Brexit and make progress.

Brexit negotiations officially started in June and are due to be completed by late March 2019. Following the fourth round of talks in late September, UK Brexit Secretary David Davis stated that the two parties managed to achieve considerable progress on a number of issues, including "increasing certainty for citizens and businesses," as well as issues related to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

On Relations With Russia

"In many ways Russia is behaving as though there is indeed a new cold war and our objective is prevent that from getting any worse, to constrain Russia, to make sure we penalize Russia for its malign and destructive activities where they are taking place but also to engage where we can," Johnson told the House of Commons.

According to the Foreign Secretary, "the UK couldn't have normal relations with this country [Russia], but we [the UK] understand that we sould keep a dialogue."

On October 13, the UK Foreign Office issued a statement, saying that Johnson would visit Russia "towards the end of the year" following an invitation by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Johnson was supposed to visit Russia in April, however, it was canceled following the US missile attack on the Syrian military base Ash Sha’irat. Moscow criticized the move and noted that a wide range of joint counterterror tools "have been blocked unilaterally by the UK some time ago." 

On the Iran Nuclear deal

Johnson also has commented on the prospects of the Iran nuclear deal after the US administration had decided on October 13 not to certify the agreement.

"The JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ] remains alive, it remains intact and it is our intention on this side of the house and indeed our intention in this government working with our friends and China and Russia as well as with the rest of the European Union to keep that deal alive," Johnson told the House of Commons.

The move by the US president prompted criticism from other members of the P5+1 group that brokered the historic deal in 2015, who had yet again stated that they believe Iran was in compliance with the nuclear deal.

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