London, Dec 11 (IANS): The UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said that Sunday will be a "point of finality" for the post-Brexit trade talks if the European Union (EU) does not "move substantially" in negotiations.
The UK government sees Sunday as a hard deadline by which to decide whether a free trade agreement with the EU is still possible, Xinhua news agency quoted Raab as saying in a Sky News interview on Thursday.
"I think we view it as a point when we need some finality," he said.
"Of course, it depends if the EU moves... I think without movement on the crucial two, three areas that I've described," Raab said.
"I think that will be a point of finality. And that's certainly the way the UK side is approaching it."
Still, the Foreign Secretart said that the UK "will leave no stone unturned" to seek a free trade deal with the EU, but not at all cost.
The emergency meeting in Brussels between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to seek a post-Brexit trade deal ended on Wednesday evening without a breakthrough as "very large gaps remain" between the two sides, according to Downing Street.
"We had a lively and interesting discussion on the state of play on outstanding issues," von der Leyen said on Twitter after the meeting, underlining that the positions of both sides remain "far apart".
The two leaders have agreed that their negotiating teams will continue discussions over the coming days and a firm decision about the future of the talks should be taken by Sunday.
Before their face-to-face talks, Johnson and von der Leyen had made a telephone call on Monday, the second call in 48 hours, in a bid to unlock the stalemate in post-Brexit trade talks.
The two leaders have had phone conversations several times instead of face-to-face discussions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trade negotiations are at a crucial stage as time is running out for both sides to secure a deal before the Brexit transition period expires on December 31.
Failure to reach a free trade agreement means bilateral trade will fall back on World Trade Organization rules in 2021.