Germany’s foreign minister has expressed hopes the United Kingdom will terminate the Brexit process and remain in the European Union.

Heiko Maas, a senior ally to Chancellor Angela Merkel who has served as German foreign minister since 2018, made the remarks in an interview with German media group Funke on Saturday, with the comments being immediately linked to the door to cancelling Brexit opened by EU judges in December.

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Asked by Funke Mediengruppe whether the United Kingdom ending the Brexit process before its planned withdrawal from the European Union in March 2019, Maas said “that’s what I’d like most”, reports Deutsche Welle.

Despite the clear desire to keep Britain in the European Union against the will of its own people, Maas was philosophical, conceding: “But we should have no illusions about this. The likelihood of an exit from Brexit is extraordinarily low.”

The Euro-federalist hardliner also expressed tough views on the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, absolutely rejecting British moves to get a better exit deal with the EU. This position may be against Mr Maas’s best interests, as giving the UK a new deal is perhaps the best route away from a so-called “Hard Brexit” — the worst case scenario for the German economy and business, which is a major exporter to Britain.

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Rather than seeking to accommodate Britain, Maas’s answer is for the country to take what it’s being given, telling Funke: “The agreement we negotiated with Britain is already a compromise — especially regarding the arrangements for Northern Ireland.”

The foreign minister’s comments are a departure from his previous position in mid-January, when the looming defeat of Theresa May’s negotiated deal in Parliament led Mr Maas to suggest there could be more negotiations on the horizon, noting: “If it goes wrong tonight, there could be further talks.”

The remarks were immediately leapt upon by Brexiteer politicians in Westminster, who felt they underlined how the EU position could change if Britain was clear it would not accept a sub-optimal deal to avoid No Deal.

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Oliver JJ Lane is the editor of Breitbart London — Follow him on Twitter and Facebook