THE draft EU withdrawal agreement flies in the face of government commitments on Northern Ireland, Nigel Dodds has said.
The DUP deputy leader met Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday along with his party's Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson and MEP Diane Dodds.
He reiterated the party's concerns over the proposed border backstop, which proponents in Europe and the Republic have called an insurance policy to protect frictionless all-island trade.
Mr Dodds said: "The Irish Republic's 'no deal' preparations published just before Christmas have laid bare the nonsense propaganda about a hard border.
"No-one wants a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Indeed, its becoming clearer by the day that no one is ever going to construct such a border.
"With this clarity emerging in London, Dublin and Brussels, there is evidently no need for the aspects of the withdrawal agreement, which have been so vigorously opposed by a broad cross-section of the House of Commons.
"The withdrawal agreement, as currently proposed, flies in the face of the government's commitments on Northern Ireland as we leave the EU."
The UK government has said it does not want a hard border reimposed. Mrs May has also said the country will exit the EU as one UK.
Contrary to pro-EU spin, the border backstop keeping Northern Ireland aligned with the Republic on trade matters was not the best of both worlds, Mr Dodds said.
He said the party would have further discussions with the prime minister and continue to work with the government in the interests of getting a better deal.
"Brussels must now demonstrate that if it truly cares about Northern Ireland, then erecting a new east-west barrier should be no more palatable than having any new north-south barriers," he said.
Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by phone at her request.
The conversation focused on securing the ratification of the withdrawal agreement, which is expected to be put to a vote in the House of Commons this month.
Mr Varadkar said both leaders decided to "stand by" the agreement.
"We're happy to offer reassurances and guarantees to the UK, but not reassurances and guarantees that contradict or change what was agreed back in November," he said.
The leaders also discussed no-deal planning. Mr Varadkar said the Republic's government would be continuing with its contingency planning in the event of a no-deal Brexit but that it would not be bringing any such legislation to parliament before March.
"The threat of a no-deal isn't one that Ireland is making, isn't one that the European Union is making," he said.
"The threat of no deal can be taken off the table at any time by the UK parliament either by ratifying the agreement that the 28 governments have made or by seeking the extension to Article 50 to allow more time for us to negotiate what needs to be negotiated.
"We're really looking to them for a solution."
