Merkel said she was willing to give Britain time until it had a 'well-defined position' to begin talks to leave the EU.
Berlin
: Prime Minister Theresa May stressed Wednesday in Berlin that Britain would not ask to leave the European Union before the end of 2016 in order to plan a -"sensible and orderly departure-".
-"We will not invoke Article 50 until our objectives are clear, which is why I've said already this will not happen before the end of this year,-" May said, referring to the formal EU mechanism to leave the bloc.
May was speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on her first foreign trip since taking office.
Merkel said she was willing to give Britain time until it had a -"well-defined position-" to begin talks to leave the EU.
The German leader stressed that negotiations on a -"Brexit-" could only begin when London had triggered the formal mechanism to leave the bloc.
-"It is in all of our interests for Britain to apply for the exit with a very well-defined negotiating position,-" said Merkel, who is expected to play a pivotal role in the talks.
