Catalan minister: 'We cannot allow Sánchez to block dialogue on the conflict with the Bilateral Committee'

"We cannot allow Sánchez to block dialogue on the conflict with the Bilateral Committee," argues Catalan foreign minister Alfred Bosch in an exclusive interview with the Catalan News Agency.

As for the upcoming Catalan election, the date of which is to be announced after the budget is approved, the minister states that he is in favor of forging governing "agreement" between pro-independence forces.

Bosch says that he will summon the committee he presides over when the time is right but claims that the Spanish government must not be allowed to use it as an excuse to "block or prevent" effective political dialogue.

The minister concedes that the current Spanish government has "also acknowledged that there is a political conflict" in Catalonia, but stresses that real dialogue is the way forward.

"I think [Spain's president] Pedro Sánchez knows perfectly well that he owes his post to a compromise with the Republican pro-independence forces of Catalonia [ERC]. He's also perfectly aware that if he wants to stay in power, he will have to proceed with this dialogue."

Bosch believes the dialogue at the bilateral negotiation table between the Spanish and Catalan governments should be prioritized and that the Bilateral Committee should only deal with sectoral issues mentioned in the 44-point document Sánchez gave Catalan president Quim Torra during their meeting on February 6, the first in over a year.

Foreign minister Bosch also argues that disagreement over whether or not a mediator should be present during negotiations - Torra's JxCat party is in favor of the figure while Sánchez believes it is unnecessary - should not hijack talks.