BELFAST, Nov 2 (Reuters): Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol could be resolved by the end of the year if Britain and the European Union are willing to compromise.

Negotiations have recently resumed over the rules governing post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland.

“The European Union has repeatedly indicated that it wants to resolve this issue by the end of the year, and I believe it will be possible if both sides are willing to do so,” Simon Coveney told reporters.

Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin later said he was “excited” about talks with new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“I’m sure he understands that he needs to quickly set an agenda based on growth and cooperation,” Michael Martin said at an event at the University of Oxford.

(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, Writing by Padraic Halpin; French editing by Camille Reynaud)