Brexit 'chaos' could be followed by same EU deal: Irish PM

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned Thursday that a no-deal Brexit would lead to "chaos" but ultimately could bring about the same divorce deal rejected by the British parliament.

Veradkar gave his warning at the World Economic Forum in Davos where the deadlocked divorce has been a recurrent topic, with just weeks to go before Britain is meant to quit the European Union on March 29.

The fate of the Irish border is the biggest stumbling block in the exit talks, with opposition in London over a so-called "backstop" in the deal binding Britain into an EU customs union until new trading ties are agreed.

The premier said Ireland would have a "major dilemma" in the case of no deal, with Dublin then under EU obligation to treat its border with Northern Ireland as an international frontier.

But he told reporters that both Britain and Ireland "would have responsibilities to abide by the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process" for Northern Ireland, which rules out imposing a hard border.

Given the predicament, Varadkar said "we would end up in a situation whereby the EU, Ireland and the UK would have to come together in order to honour our commitment to the people of (all of) Ireland".

"So after a period of chaos we would perhaps end up where we are now with a very similar deal."