Britain will only pay its EU divorce bill if the bloc agrees the framework for a future trade deal, the new Brexit Secretary warned in an interview published Sunday.

Dominic Raab, who replaced David Davis earlier this month after he quit the role in protest over the government’s Brexit strategy, said “some conditionality between the two” was needed.

“Article 50 requires, as we negotiate the withdrawal agreement, that there’s a future framework for our new relationship going forward, so the two are linked,” Raab told the Sunday Telegraph, referring to the EU treaty mechanism used to trigger Brexit.

“You can’t have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other side not, or going slow, or failing to commit on its side.”

Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 30 next year.

The two sides want to strike an initial withdrawal agreement by late October, in order to give parliament enough time to endorse it, before reaching a broader deal on their future relationship.

The British government has sent mixed signals so far on its divorce bill.

Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in December to a financial settlement totaling £35 to £39 billion ($46-51 billion, 39-44 billion euros) that ministers said depended on agreeing future trade ties.

Source: AFP