LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is not seeking to negotiate a Northern Ireland-only backstop arrangement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Tuesday, damping down expectations that the leader may turn to a previously-discarded idea to solve a Brexit impasse.

Officials in Brussels say that to get a Brexit deal done, Johnson may need to go back to the plan, which involves applying different border rules to Northern Ireland from the rest of the country to help keep goods flowing across the Irish border.

“We are not seeking a Northern Ireland-only backstop,” the spokesman said.

Johnson will meet leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party, the Northern Irish party which supports his government, later on Tuesday to discuss Brexit.