Ireland's Coveney: Convinced UK PM wants a deal but there are significant gaps

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney crossed the wires in the last minutes saying that they are convinced that Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants a deal but added that there are still significant gaps that need to be closed.

"We hope that as the threat from no-deal becomes more real in the UK, the debate will become more honest," Coveney said. "We hope that in coming weeks we see changes in the UK's position, we believe the EU would respond positively."

The GBP/USD pair paid little to no ming to these comments and continues to stay flat on the day near 1.2330. Below are some additional quotes, per Reuters.

"We insist that border issue is resolved at this stage of the negotiations."

"There has been no substantive proposal from the UK to Barnier taskforce and nothing close to what is needed in terms of the backstop."

"There is a willingness from both sides to explore a new approach."