Spanish PM meets Catalan president to defuse tensions

MADRID: Spain's new leader Pedro Sanchez on Monday meets separatist Catalan president Quim Torra for the first time in a bid to kickstart dialogue after the region´s failed attempt at secession which sparked the country´s worst crisis in decades.

Sanchez has been in power for a month after overthrowing his conservative predecessor Mariano Rajoy in a key parliamentary vote he won with the help of Catalan separatists.

Sanchez has urged Catalan separatist leaders to "turn the page" after Torra said he wanted another referendum on independence. At the start of this month, six of the nine Catalan leaders held near Madrid were transferred to Catalonia to ease tensions ahead of Monday´s talks in Madrid.

They include former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart of two pro-independence associations and Raul Romeva, the former Catalan government´s international affairs chief.

Accused of rebellion along with deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont for their role in the region´s proclamation of independence in October 2017, they face up to 25 years in jail.

Torra said the aim of the talks was to "find out the Socialists´ view on the right of self-determination for Catalans." The government has already rebuffed this with spokeswoman Isabel Celaa responding that the "right to self-determination does not exist in the constitution".

"Our proposal to resolve this is a referendum on self-determination. If they have a better idea, they can explain that to us," the official said.

Catalonia´s separatist government pushed ahead with an independence referendum on October 1 despite it having been ruled unconstitutional by the court and Spain´s central government. The referendum was followed by a unilateral declaration on independence on October 27. At the time, separatist authorities said 92 percent of the 2.2 million Catalans who cast their ballot -- 43 percent of eligible voters -- opted for independence.

The conservative Spanish government in power at the time, headed by Mariano Rajoy, responded by sacking the Catalan government, suspending its parliament and imposing direct rule over the wealthy northeastern region. Madrid ended direct rule over Catalonia last month after Torra´s administration was sworn in.

Catalan lawmaker Meritxell Batet who was recently sworn in as Spain´s minister for public administration said the ruling Socialists wanted to amend the constitution to move toward a "federal model".