Boris Johnson: Brexit chances ‘touch and go’

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who vowed to leave the European Union by the end of October, told reporters Sunday that the chances of a Brexit deal are “touch and go.” 

Johnson told the BBC during an interview at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in France the deal “all depends on our EU friends and partners.”

“I think it’s going to be touch and go. But the important thing is to get ready to come out without a deal,” he told the outlet. {mosads}

Johnson has been an ardent Brexit supporter for years. He inherited negotiations after former Prime Minister Theresa May resigned last month and he won the election to replace her.

Johnson told reporters Sunday he would withhold most of the 39 billion-pound, or $48 billion, divorce bill agreed to under May if no deal is reached, The Associated Press reports. 

His comments and Brexit and a potential no-deal exit followed his meeting with President Trump in which the president promised a “very big trade deal” with the U.K. after Brexit. 

Trump also called Johnson the “right man for the job” to deliver a Brexit deal that has plagued U.K. lawmakers since the country’s referendum vote in favor of Brexit in 2016 under then-Prime Minister David Cameron.