Dialogue will be 'smokescreen' if no 'answers' on self-determination, says President

President Quim Torra urged the Spanish government to offer Catalonia "specific solutions" to its self-determination demands during the bilateral conversations that are due to start on Wednesday in Barcelona.

In an exclusive interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Torra said Catalonia's right to self-determination and the situation of "political prisoners and exiles" should be addressed by Madrid.

"We are in an extraordinarily serious and exceptional political situation, so it is obvious that dialogue will become just a smokescreen if it doesn't offer answers on these issues," he insisted.

Torra asked the Spanish government to take "decisions" on "self-determination, the prisoners and the political situation" for the conversations to evolve "positively."

The first bilateral summit between the Catalan and Spanish government in seven years will be held in Barcelona on Wednesday, and the day's agenda includes a point about the political situation and "freedoms and rights" in Catalonia.

According to Torra, the new Spanish government willingness to discuss these issues is already "very important" as it shows "dialogue can go ahead without preconditions."

But for the Catalan president, the conversations should lead to actual "negotiations" on the future of Catalonia and to "actions, not only words."

"We need decisions by the Spanish government, in a lot of issues, not only those addressed in the bilateral meeting," Torra explained.

The Catalan president said that there could be "agreements on sectorial issues" such as infrastructures or finance. Torra also added that his executive will use the meeting to ask for powers to manage taxi licenses.