UK: Boris Johnson in Northern Ireland at the heart of the Brexit impasse

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Belfast, July 31, 2019. PAUL FAITH / AFP

The new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Wednesday with the leaders of the main political parties in Northern Ireland, where he tries to allay concerns about the future of the Irish border in case of Brexit without agreement.

With our correspondent in London , Marina Daras

Boris Johnson concluded his tour of British nations on Wednesday (July 31st) in Northern Ireland where he met with all North Irish political parties in the hope of restoring the Protestant-Catholic coalition in the Stormont Parliament, a coalition that fell in January 2017 On the subject of Brexit, the Prime Minister has maintained his refusal of a "backstop" at the Irish border . In Northern Ireland, 55.8% of voters voted against leaving the European Union.

Today PM @BorisJohnson is in Northern Ireland with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland @JulianSmithUK.

They are meeting each of Northern Ireland's main political parties for discussions on restoring the devolved institutions. pic.twitter.com/Eot84ftzkf

After a series of disappointments in Scotland and Wales, where the Prime Minister was booed twice, Boris Johnson was able to find some comfort with his allies DUP, the Northern Ireland Unionist Party. Arlene Foster, the leader of the DUP, recalled that her party supported the Prime Minister and demanded the abandonment of the "backstop", which she considers a " persistent and fundamental failure " of the exit agreement negotiated by Theresa May.

But her rival, the president of the nationalist party Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, for its part warned the Prime Minister that a Brexit without agreement would in his opinion " catastrophic " for the economy of the island and for the agreements of peace on Good Friday as Westminster regained control of the country until it reinstated a North Irish assembly.

We spelt out the realities to Boris Johnson. Bluster & bravado can not mask the utterly destructive Brexit route he is taking. He is on the road to peace and prosperity with his eyes wide open. Tiger belligerence down #Brexit

She also announced that in case of Brexit without agreement on October 31, she will call for a referendum on a reattachment of the six counties of Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland.

The prospect of a Brexit without agreement continues to tear the kingdom apart and increases the threat of dissolution.