Catalan leader's letter does not clarify independence status

October 16, 2017 12:48 pm | Updated 01:54 pm IST - BARCELONA, Spain

 Catalan President Carles Puigdemont addresses to the media after a ceremony commemorating the 77th anniversary of the death of Catalan leader Lluis Companys at the Montjuic Cemetery in Barcelona, Spain on Oct. 15, 2017.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont addresses to the media after a ceremony commemorating the 77th anniversary of the death of Catalan leader Lluis Companys at the Montjuic Cemetery in Barcelona, Spain on Oct. 15, 2017.

Catalonia’s leader hasn’t clarified whether he declared independence from Spain in a letter to the Central government and has renewed a call for dialogue.

Last week, Spain had set a October 16 deadline for Carles Puigdemont to explicitly say whether or not he proclaimed that Catalonia was breaking away from Spain.

Mr. Puigdemont held a banned independence referendum on October 1 and then made an ambiguous declaration of independence last week. He then immediately suspended the declaration to allow time for talks and mediation.

In Monday’s letter, Mr. Puigdemont didn’t answer “yes” or “no” to the question “Have you declared independence in Catalonia” as demanded by the Spanish government. He called for two months of dialogue and requested that Spanish authorities halt “all repression” in Catalonia.

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