LONDON, 08 December, 2020, (TON): British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the conditions for finalizing a trade agreement "are not there due to the remaining significant differences" between the UK and the EU.

The leaders issued a joint statement after a phone call, the second in 48 hours, which ended with no major breakthrough.

The two leaders said statement issued on Monday that "As agreed on Saturday, we took stock today of the ongoing negotiations."

"We agreed that the conditions for finalizing an agreement are not there due to the remaining significant differences on three critical issues: level playing field, governance and fisheries," the statement said.

"We asked our Chief Negotiators and their teams to prepare an overview of the remaining differences to be discussed in a physical meeting in Brussels in the coming days," it added.

According to a BBC, Johnson is expected to travel to Brussels for the next crucial phase of the trade talks.

A previous phone call between the two leaders took place on Saturday as both sides' chief negotiators paused negotiations over major differences on the core issues.

Also on Monday, a spokesman for the prime minister said Britain is prepared to negotiate a trade deal for as long as it takes, but rejected any extension of a Brexit transition period or further talks past this year.

The trade negotiations are at a crucial stage as time is running out for both sides to secure a deal before the Brexit transition period expires on 31 December, 2020. The UK left the European Union on 31 January but leaders needed time to negotiate a deal for life afterwards - they got 11 months.

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