CATALAN President Quim Torra says he would be prepared to set aside all decisions his government has taken since the October referendum – which was deemed illegal by Spain – if Spanish authorities were to agree the principle of self-determination for Catalonia in a future poll on independence.
His remarks come in an exclusive interview with Alex Salmond for his weekly television show on RT.
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The president says he welcomes the dialogue that has been established with the government of new Prime Minister Pedro Sànchez – the first time the two sides have officially spoken in recent years.
“This is a reasonable deal I think for trying to solve this issue politically between Prime Minister Sanchez and myself,” says Torra.
However, he adds that the release and return of the imprisoned and exiled Catalan independence figures is not a matter for negotiation, since they should be released immediately and without pre-condition.
The programme, which will be broadcast on RT International today, also features an interview with Catalan socialist leader Miquel Iceta, an opponent of independence, who is now in a pivotal position with the ascent of the Socialists to power in Madrid’s central government.
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Iceta argues for a federal solution for Catalonia within Spain, going beyond the 2010 Statute of Autonomy which was diluted by the Spanish Constitutional Court.
He says: “We feel we need not just a reform of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy but also a reform of the Spanish constitution. In the end that’s the only way out of this problem.”
This first edition of the series on Catalonia also features interviews with Elisenda Paluzie, president of the Catalan National Assembly, the grassroots pro-independence social movement, and the new Catalan foreign minister Ernest Maragall.
He is a former member of the Socialist Party who is now leading the negotiations as a member of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).
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