London: United Kingdom's Prime Minister Theresa May formally asked the European Union on Wednesday to postpone Britain's departure from the bloc - due in nine days - until June 30.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May at Parliament The decision comes at the end of two years of negotiations.
During that period Prime Minister May had repeatedly insisted that she would take her country out of the European Union on March 29, with or without a deal, vowing the country will "make a success" of Brexit.
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The EU has warned it could keep Britain waiting for an answer.
In a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, May said the Brexit process "clearly will not be completed before 29 March 2019" - the date fixed in law two years ago for Britain's departure.
She asked for a delay until June 30, and said she wanted to set out her reasons to EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Opposition politicians, and pro-EU members of May's Conservative government, had urged a longer extension, saying a delay of just a few months could leave Britain once again facing a cliff-edge "no-deal" Brexit this summer.
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But a long extension would infuriate the pro-Brexit wing of May's divided party, and would require Britain to participate in the late May election for the European Parliament.
May said that would be unacceptable.
Britain voted in June 2016 to quit the EU, but almost three years later, its politicians are deadlocked over how - and even whether - to leave.
