May also told Tusk that Britain would be a “strong player” while it remained in the European Union, and would continue to stand firm on sanctions against Russian Federation over its action in neighbouring Ukraine.
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Earlier in the week Downing Street had attempted to play down Brexit Secretary David Davis’s suggestion that it was “improbable” Britain could remain in the single market.
“I don’t think it’s acceptable to have a Prime Minister who is unable or unwilling to answer the simple question: ‘Should we remain in the single market or not?'”
Mrs May is heading straight to a meeting of the Cabinet after landing back in the country following the brief trip to China for the G20 meeting of world leaders, where she sought to win support for the United Kingdom as it prepares for life outside the EU.
Obama noted the USA remains focused on finishing trade deals with Asia-Pacific and with the European Union.
Mr Robertson claimed that so far the Government had only come up with “waffle” about the post-Brexit plan. However with the exit talks unlikely to start for months, Mr. Tusk has said the main focus of the meeting will likely end up on other themes.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “None of us voted for whatever it is that we might get from the deal arranged and negotiated by David Davis”.
May has said Britain will not trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty to start the exit procedure this year to give her government time to come up with a negotiating stance for the complicated talks that will shape the country’s future standing.
She added: “It would not be right for us to prejudge those negotiations”. No attempt to delay, frustrate or thwart the will of the British people.
While the PM said she wanted control over the movement of people from the European Union to the United Kingdom and the “right deal” for trade, Mrs May told MPs the Government would not “reveal our hand prematurely” or comment on “every twist and turn”.
The leaders of the other 27 European Union nations will hold talks in Slovakia next week and Mr Tusk said they would “discuss the political consequences of Brexit” for Europe.
THERESA MAY has refused to commit the United Kingdom to remaining in the European single market despite warnings of the consequences of leaving for jobs and business.
Mr Tusk – who oversaw the UK’s European Union renegotiation prior to the in/out referendum – has said he wants to see a “velvet divorce” between the United Kingdom and European Union, but he has also insisted that there will be no formal talks until the United Kingdom triggers the formal process for leaving under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
He said Brexit was about “getting the best deal” with something that is unique rather than an “off-the-shelf solution”.
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Now Australian minister Steven Ciobo has made clear during a visit to London for talks with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox that only “preliminary” discussions are possible at this stage.
