Boris Johnson will travel to the EU on Monday for his first talks with Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker after Ireland trashed hopes of a breakthorugh.
The Prime Minister will meet the European Commission President in his native Luxembourg at lunchtime - followed by a meeting with the country's PM Xavier Bettel.
Downing Street's announcement comes moments after Boris Johnson was dealt a Brexit blow when the Irish premier dashed fresh hopes of a breakthrough.
The gulf between the UK and Brussels' positions is still “very wide", Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar declared.
And he warned British plans to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland the Republic still fall “very far short” of what is needed.
This morning has seen claims that a breakthrough was near in the Prime Minister's torturous talks with Brussels.
Next week it will be a month since Germany's Angela Merkel suggested Britain had 30 days to solve the Irish backstop.
With time running out, The Times today reported Mr Johnson's DUP allies were prepared to soften their red lines.
In what would be a crucial move, the 10 MPs were reportedly set to accept some checks to trade crossing the Irish Sea, and Northern Ireland abiding by some EU rules after Brexit .
Such a shift would potentially allow Mr Johnson to strike a deal with Brussels at the next EU summit on October 17.
The Times wrote that, in return for such concessions, Brussels would abandon its insistence on Northern Ireland remaining in a customs union with the EU.
DUP leader Arlene Foster appeared to flat-out deny the claims, saying: "UK must leave as one nation.
"We are keen to see a sensible deal but not one that divides the internal market of the UK.
"We will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade."
She added: "Anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories."
DUP MP Sammy Wilson also rejected the reports, though he fuelled hopes a more general softening between London and Dublin and said "we want to see a deal".
He told the BBC: "I think that there was a different attitude in the talks between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach at the beginning of the week.
"And there seemed to be less rhetoric at those discussions from what there had been in the past - and I suppose that's progress."
Ireland's Mr Varadkar has consistently taken a hard line against the UK over Brexit - and today was no exception.
He told RTE radio: "The gap is very wide.
"We will fight (against) no-deal until the last moment, but not at any cost.
"We always said we are willing to explore alternative arrangements.
"But so far I think it is fair to say that what we are seeing falls very far short of what we need.”
The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned yesterday he was unable to guarantee a Brexit deal by mid-October.
The PM is legally bound to ask Brussels for an extension to Article 50 if he cannot get MPs to back a deal by October 19.
It comes after Parliament approved legislation designed to prevent a no-deal by delaying Brexit for three months.
But Boris Johnson has said he'd rather "die in a ditch" than delay and suggested he will "test the limits" of the new law.
That prompted a furious rebuke last night from Speaker John Bercow, who vowed to halt any law-breaking and compared the PM to a "bank robber".
