Spanish PM meets Catalan prez to ease nerves

Madrid: Spain's new leader Pedro Sanchez met with separatist Catalan president Quim Torra for the first time today, aiming to kickstart dialogue after the region's failed attempt at secession sparked a political crisis.

The first meeting between a Spanish prime minister and a Catalan regional leader in more than two years started in Madrid around 0930 GMT with a handshake.

Torra, who has said he wants another independence referendum, earlier said his aim was to "find out the Socialists' view on the right of self-determination for Catalans".

However, Sanchez, who has been in power for a month, has urged Catalan separatist leaders to "turn the page". Several government figures have rebuffed the idea of another referendum, with Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo telling the Spanish newspaper El Mundo yesterday that the country's constitution does not allow for a territory to become independent.

"And no Spanish constitutional government will consider it," Calvo said.

But a senior Catalan government official told AFP that they would bring the fractious issue up in Madrid.

"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.

Before the meeting, Torra tweeted that he was going "to explain to Pedro Sanchez the very serious situation that the Spanish state has created in Catalonia".

"And with the willingness to listen to the solution he proposes," he added.