London, Dhu-AlQa'dah 24, 1438 -- The British government said Wednesday it does not want

to reintroduce controls on the border between Northern Ireland and

the Republic of Ireland after it leaves the European Union in March 2019, according to dpa.

The avoidance of any kind of physical infrastructure on the border would be its number one priority when negotiating its only land frontier with the European Union, the Department for Exiting the European Union said. The statement came in a paper released as part of a series detailing Britain's position on key Brexit issues before a third round of negotiations start on August 28.

London also said it wanted to uphold its freedom of movement agreement with Ireland, which predates the EU. However it was unclear how Britain would police the entry of other nationalities over the border with Ireland.

The border question has been a source of concern in Dublin, which fears economic losses and the potential stalling of the peace process in Northern Ireland.

"Both sides needs to show flexibility and imagination when it comes to the border issue in Northern Ireland," a government source said.

"Top of our list is to agree upfront no physical border infrastructure - that would mean a return to the border posts of the past and is completely unacceptable to the UK," the source added.

The publication of the paper came a day after Britain outlined its position on long-term customs arrangements with the EU. London wants to leave the EU's customs union, which would allow it to negotiate its own trade deals with other countries. That currently remains Brussels' prerogative and Britain cannot strike any trade deals of its own until it exits the bloc.

On Tuesday London proposed a temporary customs union with the EU after it exits while it negotiates its own deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency