British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar have agreed they can see a "pathway to a possible Brexit deal," following crunch talks on Thursday.

A joint statement issued after the two leaders met in Birkenhead, outside Liverpool in North West England, said: "Both continue to believe a deal is in everybody's interest. They agreed that they could see a pathway to a possible deal."

The announcement comes with just days left to conclude an agreement.

European Union leaders are meeting on 17-18 October in Brussels, where Johnson hopes to formalize the UK's exit from the 28-nation bloc on 31 October, more than three years after the nation's referendum on whether to leave.

The UK's attempts to strike a deal with the EU hit a roadblock over the status of the invisible land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, a EU member-state.

Johnson and Varadkar said they had "detailed and constructive" talks.

"Their discussions concentrated on the challenges of customs and consent," the statement said. "They also discussed the potential to strengthen bilateral relations, including on Northern Ireland."

It continued: "They agreed to reflect further on their discussions and that officials would continue to engage intensively on them."