UK Officials Confident Next Phase of Brexit Talks to Begin in October

UK government officials are confident that the next phase of Brexit talks would begin in October, according to media reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK officials expressed confidence that the next phase of Brexit talks would begin in October despite the expectations that it would be delayed until December, media reported Thursday.

"Government officials are working at pace and we are confident we will have made sufficient progress by October to advance the talks to the next phase," a statement of spokeswoman for the UK Department for Exiting the European Union was quoted by Irish RTE radio.

The statement comes following reports that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier believed the second phase of talks would be delayed until December as London and Brussels had to settle disagreements over the sum the United Kingdom owed to the bloc.

The Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels kicked off in June and are expected to complete by the late March 2019. The first phase is aimed at negotiating the terms of withdrawal, which includes such issues as exiting bill, rights of the citizens and debates over Northern Ireland, the second phase will be aimed at discussion of future relations and the third phase will focus on transition deal.