LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May held talks Friday with European leaders and British Cabinet colleagues, but efforts to end Britain’s Brexit stalemate appeared deadlocked, with neither May nor Britain’s opposition leader shifting from their entrenched positions.

May has been meeting with politicians from several U.K. parties this week to try to find a way forward after her European Union divorce deal was overwhelmingly rejected by Parliament.

Despite that, May has been unwilling to move her “red lines” in the Brexit negotiations, which include taking Britain out of the bloc’s customs union.

And opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to meet with May unless she rules out the possibility of Britain leaving the EU with no deal – a scenario that many believe would hurt the British economy.

May on Friday also spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and planned more calls to European colleagues over the weekend.

But the talks yielded little progress.

The European Commission said tersely that the May-Juncker call was “an exchange of information on both sides” and that the two had “agreed to stay in touch.”

May, who narrowly defeated a no-confidence vote in her Conservative government triggered by Corbyn this week, said it was “not within the government’s power to rule out no-deal” because by law Britain will leave the EU without an agreement on March 29 unless Parliament approves a deal before then.


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