Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the European Union on Monday that the Brexit ball was in its court and that the bloc should now urgently discuss in detail his proposal for breaking the deadlock in talks ahead of Britain's departure on Oct. 31.
With just 24 days to go before the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU, both sides are positioning themselves to avoid blame for a delay or a disorderly no-deal Brexit.
EU leaders reacted coolly to Johnson's last-ditch proposals to bridge the impasse, indicating just how far apart the two sides are over the first departure of a sovereign state from the EU, which was forged from Europe's ruins after World War II.