Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and new British prime minister Boris Johnson have finally spoken by phone this afternoon after a week of radio silence caused by the increasingly bitter Brexit fallout.
Downing Street confirmed Mr Johnson phoned Mr Varadkar shortly before midday on Tuesday, exactly seven days after he replaced Theresa May as the leader of the Conservatives party.
Under long-held diplomatic protocols, it is the responsibility of an incoming leader of a country to phone their counterparts in other nations for an initial phone call.
However, in a move seen as a clear message to Ireland, despite the Taoiseach sending a public message of congratulations a week ago on his appointment, Mr Johnson had pointedly failed to speak with Mr Varadkar throughout his first week in office.
The new British prime minister has in recent days spoken with outgoing European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron.
In addition, he visited Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh on Monday, has travelled to Wales today and will meet with DUP leader Arlene Foster in Belfast later this week.
However, a crucial meeting with Mr Varadkar in Dublin has yet to be organised - with the lack of even a phone call causing further damage to the already Brexit-hit Anglo-Irish relations.
The failure for the two leaders to speak until now has led to growing friction both between Ireland and Britain.
In addition, it has led to mounting Irish political concerns over the growing risk of a no deal crash out Brexit, despite senior Government officials insisting the lack of a phone call has been overplayed.
However, after a week of radio silence, Downing Street confirmed this afternoon that Mr Johnson phoned Mr Varadkar to speak about the Brexit crisis, Northern Ireland and other matters just before midday on Tuesday.
The phone call, which is believed to have been relatively short and did not lead to any change in Brexit position from Ireland or Britain, also involved initial talks about a future bilateral meeting between Mr Johnson and Mr Varadkar.
However, to date no formal plan for the meeting has been publicly agreed.
