'Puigdemont had no intention of declaring independence,' Basque president tells court

"Puigdemont had no intention of declaring independence," Basque president Íñigo Urkullu told the Supreme Court, as he took the stand as the first witness to testify in the trial of Catalan independence leaders on Thursday.

He acted as a discreet "link" between the Catalan and Spanish executives during the peak of the 2017 crisis. 

According to Urkullu, Puigdemont agreed not to declare independence in exchange for Spain not suspending Catalonia's self-rule, but asked for "guarantees."

Yet Urkullu explained he was unable to get those "guarantees" from the Spanish government.

Puigdemont first to ask him to act as "mediator"

The Basque leader said it was former Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, who was the first to ask him to act as a "mediator" in the political crisis, to reach an agreed solution [between the Catalan and Spanish governments]."

"Puigdemont had a totally receptive attitude" towards him as 'mediator,' said Urkullu, while he said the Spanish president at the time, Mariano Rajoy, "listened with attention" but was "reluctant that dialogue would lead to negotiation outside of the Constitution."

"From October 4, I presented four or five proposals ahead of the day of the declaration of independence," Urkullu went on to tell the court, specifying that his suggestions included dialogue, detente, no declaration of independence and no direct rule.