by Larry Neild
LONDON, July 25 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday a way must be found to resolve the question of the border separating Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic once Britain leaves the EU.
May paid her first visit as Prime Minister to the Northern Ireland Monday, spending 90 minutes at Stormont Castle meeting Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.
Downing Street later issued a statement on behalf of May after her talks with the two leaders.
The visit to Northern Ireland came after May's visits to Scotland and Wales to reassure leaders they would be fully involved in Brexit negotiations.
Once Britain finally leaves the EU, the border with Ireland will be the only stretch of EU border within Britain.
The border between the Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic has been open, allowing free passage for peoples on both sides of the border since a treaty was signed almost a century ago.
May said:" I recognize the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland because of course it has a land border with a country that will be remaining in the EU. We've had constructive talks about the will that we all have to find a way through this in the best interest of Northern Ireland and the best interest of the UK as a whole."
"We'd had a common travel area between the UK and the Republic of Ireland for many years before either country was a member of the EU."
"Nobody wants to return to the borders of the past - what we do want to do is to find a way through this that is going to work and deliver a practical solution for everybody, as part of the work we're doing to ensure that we make a success of the UK leaving the EU and that we come out of this with a deal in the interest of the whole of the UK."
In the June 23 referendum on EU membership, 56 percent of voters in Northern Ireland wanted to remain in Europe. But around Britain, Brexit won with a 52-48 margin.
The Belfast Telegraph later reported that First Minister Foster, a Democratic Unionist politician said she welcomed May's pledge to fully consult with the Stormont executive on the negotiations with the EU, but Sinn Fein's McGuinness said he told May that "Brexit brought no good news whatsoever. I made it clear to the British Prime Minister that the democratically expressed wishes of the people of the North, who see their future in Europe, who voted to remain in Europe, should be respected."
Following the Prime Minister's departure from Stormont Castle, the divisions within the power-sharing administration on the matter were laid bare as Foster and McGuinness gave contrasting assessments of the meetings, said the newspaper.
It reported that May held a joint meeting with the two Stormont leaders before having separate one-to-one sessions with each of them individually.
The referendum result, said the Belfast Telegraph, has sparked a renewed debate on a potential referendum on Irish reunification with the Republic of Ireland.
"Mrs May's visit coincided with news that a cross-community group of Northern Ireland politicians and human-rights activists are to launch a legal challenge against Brexit," read the report.
