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The U.K. acknowledged for the first time on paper that it will have to pay money to the European Union as it withdraws from the bloc, seeking to damp down a row over the countrys so-called Brexit bill.

The government has been clear that we will work with the EU to determine a fair settlement of the U.K.s rights and obligations as a departing member state, Brexit Minister Joyce Anelay, a member of the House of Lords, said Thursday in a written statement to Parliament that referred explicitly to the financial settlement with the EU. The government recognizes that the U.K. has obligations to the EU, and the EU obligations to the U.K., that will survive the U.K.s withdrawal and that these need to be resolved.

Britains so-called exit bill has shaped up to be one of the thorniest issues in the Brexit negotiations, with media speculation putting the fee as high as 100 billion euros ($114 billion). Prime Minister Theresa May needs to come to an accommodation with her EU counterparts on the payment, because its one of three areas, alongside citizens rights and the border with Ireland that the EU is demanding sufficient progress on before the discussions can move onto Britains future relationship with the bloc.

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Anelays statement contrasts with the more bellicose tone employed by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson just two days ago. Answering questions in Parliament, he agreed with euro-skeptic Tory lawmaker Philip Hollobone who suggested the foreign secretary should make it clear to the EU that if it wants a penny piece more from Britain as part of the Brexit settlement, it can go whistle. Johnson responded that the sums that I have seen that they propose to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate, and I think that to go whistle is an entirely appropriate expression.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on April 29 that the sum would be between 40 billion euros and 60 billion euros. While press stories have put the sum even higher than that, EU negotiator Michel Barnier hasnt publicly endorsed a number.

While the language of the statement is dry, its the first time Britain has acknowledged in writing the need to pay a financial settlement. When May wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk in March to officially trigger two years of Brexit discussions, she referred to it obliquely, saying we will need to discuss how we determine a fair settlement of the U.K.s rights and obligations as a departing member state.

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UK Accepts It Must Pay Brexit Bill on Departing European Union - Bloomberg