DUBLIN: Ireland expressed disappointment on Tuesday at a demand from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the Brexit backstop insurance policy for the Irish border be replaced with a pledge.

In a phone call with Johnson's Brexit minister, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney expressed concern at the lack of alternatives to the backstop presented in a letter Johnson sent to European Council President Donald Tusk.

Coveney repeated the need for legal certainty on the border issue, a statement from his office said.