LONDON, 05 December, 2020, (TON): After one week of intense trade negotiations in London, the chief negotiators from Britain and the European Union (EU) agreed Friday to "pause the talks" due to "significant divergences."

Releasing identical statements on Twitter, Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier said they agreed that "the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field, governance and fisheries."

The two sides "agreed to pause the talks in order to brief their Principals on the state of play of the negotiations," said the statement.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "will discuss the state of play tomorrow afternoon," it said.

Britain and the EU resumed face-to-face talks in London on Saturday after an EU negotiator tested positive for coronavirus earlier in November.

The negotiations are at a crucial stage as time is running out for both sides to secure a deal before the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year.

Failure to reach a free trade agreement with the EU means bilateral trade will fall back on World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in 2021.

Trade agreements that the UK is part of as an EU member state will no longer apply if there’s a no-deal Brexit. The UK government is working on new agreements to replace EU trade agreements after Brexit.

The UK and the EU are negotiating a trade agreement to start on 1 January 2021. Any trade agreement will aim to eliminate tariffs and reduce other trade barriers coming into force.