EU negotiator says smooth Brexit a condition for good future ties

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Smooth negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union are a prerequisite for a good future relationship between London and the bloc, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator said on Tuesday. "Agreement on orderly exit is prerequisite for future partnership. My priority is to get the right deal for EU27," Michel Barnier tweeted after British Prime Minister Theresa May laid out more detail on plans to leave the 28-state Union. He said he was ready to start negotiations, something May has said she will do by late March by giving Brussels formal notice of Britain's intention to quit: "Ready as soon as UK is," Barnier said. "Only notification can kick off negotiations." (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)