LONDON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that a trade deal with the European Union (EU) by the end of this year was "enormously likely," as the country is set to officially leave the world's largest trading bloc.

Johnson made the comments in his first major TV interview since the general election. He said the two sides would start working on building a "fantastic new partnership" after Britain leaves the EU on Jan. 31.

The prime minister said he was "very, very, very confident" regarding the deal, although he added that in any negotiation a country had "to budget for a complete failure of common sense."