Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay is seen outside of Downing Street in London, Britain, March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said now was not the time to rerun old arguments, in response to proposals put forward by the chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier on the contentious Irish backstop.

“With a very real deadline looming, now is not the time to rerun old arguments,” Barclay tweeted on Friday. “The UK has put forward clear new proposals. We now need to agree a balanced solution that can work for both sides.”