Germany: PM May assures Merkel that preparations for Brexit are ‘on track’

British Prime Minister Theresa May said that preparations for the UK to leave the European Union were "on track" and that Article 50 would be invoked by the end of March 2017, in Berlin on Friday.
In a statement to the press, standing alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, May assured: “I will be able to update Chancellor Merkel on where we are on our Brexit preparations, our work is on track, we do stand ready to trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017.”
She stressed the need for it to be “a smooth process, an orderly process, working towards a solution that is in the interests of both the United Kingdom, but also in the interests of our European partners.”
May also referenced cooperation between the UK and Germany in foreign policy and the refugee crisis. Referencing Syria, she said the two countries were “united in our condemnation of the atrocities that are taking place there. We agreed on the need to keep up the pressure on Russia, including the possibility of sanctions on those who breach humanitarian international law.”
The statements came just ahead of a scheduled meeting at the German Federal Chancellery where May and Merkel will be joined by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and US President Barack Obama.