Spanish government says any dialogue with Catalonia must be within the law

[MADRID] Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont should come back to the path of the law if he wants talks to take place and he has no right to impose a mediation with the government, Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Tuesday.

"Neither Mr Puigdemont nor anybody else can claim ... to impose mediation. Any dialogue between democrats has to take place within the law," Mr Saenz de Santamaria said after Mr Puigdemont declared Catalonia's independence from Spain but immediately suspended it to allow time for a mediated solution with Spain.

The Spanish government will meet on Wednesday to decide on its response to this declaration.

REUTERS