INCOMING DUP leader Edwin Poots said he is seeking the complete removal of the Northern Ireland Protocol "as flexibilities and mitigations don't cut it".
He told RTÉ News there is a need for "a bit of common sense coming from the Irish Government that things have went far too far, they've done real damage and they need to draw back from the position they've adopted".
The Lagan Valley MLA said "North-South relationships have never been as bad" but he wants good relations with his neighbours.
Mr Poots described the Protocol as "hugely damaging to all of the people of Northern Ireland", saying it has been "removed from the union as a result of Brexit" and called on the British and Irish governments and the EU to help him calm tensions in the north.
"We have seen riots on our streets, we saw community tensions rise as a consequence of this, we want to defuse that.
"As a unionist leader, I want to defuse that situation... but I can't do that on my own."
Mr Poots, who recently recovered from cancer surgery, said it is impossible for the Executive to deliver the protocol, as if it was "rigorously implemented as some people desire" there would be 15,000 checks per week, needing 600 personnel, including 200 vets.
"We can't train vets in less than five years.
"... So what is Europe going to do? Are they going to starve the people of Northern Ireland? Are they going to deny them medicine because the protocol is not implementable?"
Mr Poots, accompanied by North Antrim MP Ian Paisley, held early morning talks with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis in Belfast yesterday.
He did not stop to speak to the media outside Stormont House after the meeting, but is expected to to travel to London for further meetings with the UK government later in the week.
The Agriculture Minister has been holding a series of meetings with DUP elected representatives ahead of deciding the make-up of his ministerial team at Stormont.
He has made clear he will not take up the role of First Minister, instead appointing a party colleague to the role.
