By Agence France-Presse
French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that "I'd like to believe a deal is being finalised" on Britain's looming exit from the European Union, ahead of a crucial summit meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
"Our hope, our goal is to be able to endorse an accord that I hope will be reached in the coming hours. The echos we've had are positive," Macron said of crunch talks among EU officials aimed at reaching an exit deal.
"I'd like to believe a deal is being finalised and that we will be able to approve it tomorrow," he said at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Toulouse, southwest France.
"We believe it will be possible to have an accord between the European Union and Great Britain on Brexit," Merkel said.
"From what I've heard these past few days, I think more and more that we will reach this accord," she said.
British and European negotiators have been locked in talks this week to avert a "no deal" exit on October 31, which could spark economic and political chaos as hard borders go up between Britain and the Continent.
Macron and Merkel met ahead of the Brussels summit as part of their regular Franco-German council meetings aimed at shoring up their relations and pursuing deeper European integration.