Spanish government rules out meeting between king and Catalan president

The Spanish government has rejected a meeting between king Felipe VI and Catalan president Quim Torra, after the latter sent a letter to the monarch calling for dialogue in order to heal “wounds” caused by the “repression” against independence supporters.

The first official communication with the king since Torra’s election last month, the letter has also been signed by the president’s most recent predecessors, Artur Mas and Carles Puigdemont—the latter currently in Germany awaiting a decision on his extradition to Spain.

With the king due to attend the opening ceremony of the Mediterranean Games in Tarragona on Friday, Torra described the king’s visit as a “historic opportunity” to “repair” the “violence, the repression and the persecution” against the independence referendum last October.