The Foreign Secretary made her comments in an interview on the day leading Brexiteer Tory MP Steve Baker made a speech in Belfast demanding that the Government does not use the Ukraine crisis as an excuse to delay talks on Ulster describing it as “unfinished business” with Brexit.
Under the current deal there are still borders between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK because it remains in the EU Single Market.
He said: “Any suggestion that Putin has vetoed action to restore our constitutional settlement is outrageous. Brexiteers, rightly, would be shamed into silence if we attempted this ludicrous argument in reverse.”
But speaking to the Sunday Express, Ms Truss insisted that any suggestion the Government and EU have shelved the Northern Ireland talks are wrong.
She said: “It hasn’t [delayed the talks] we continue to work on that.
“We need to ensure that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the UK is protected and that we have the free flow of goods around the UK and that communities in Northern Ireland – both Unionists and Nationalists – feel protected.
“That is important because we need to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland and those discussions continue.”
But she added that the Ukraine crisis has underlined that the EU and UK are still strong allies and friends with common cause.
She said: “We left the EU, but we didn’t leave Europe and European security and the right to a peaceful existence is completely shared by the UK and the EU.
“[On Friday] I joined the EU Council, US, Canada and Ukraine and we are determined to work together to stop Putin. That is our absolute focus.”
