Puigdemont claims that a solution other than independence "is always a possibility"

BARCELONAIn an interview with 'Le Soir', President Carles Puigdemont declared himself "willing" to "accept the reality of a relationship with Spain" other than independence. “It’s always a possibility! I’ve always supported independence, I’ve worked for thirty years towards building a different relationship between Catalonia and Spain!". Puigdemont went on to say that "A lot of work has been done on the issue, but when José María Aznar arrived in office he called a halt to all that".

Details of the last secret meeting with Rajoy

In the interview, Puigdemont also gave 'Le Soir' details of his last meeting with PM Rajoy, which took place in secret. "In January, I saw President Rajoy and I told him we were willing to discuss everything", adding, "I received a negative answer to every proposal". Puigdemont went on to ask: "Does the PP, which represents less than 10% of the voters in Catalonia, have more right than we do to decide the Catalans’ future? My answer is ‘no’".

During the interview, Puigdemont lists the points on which he offered to negotiate with Rajoy: "the date of the referendum, the question, an alternate question with a choice between independence and self-rule with full autonomy, the majority necessary to make such a decision... I was even willing to accept that, for an entire generation, we would hold a referendum every three years. I received a negative to every single proposal", Puigdemont stated.

Puigdemont also commented on the process that his government followed. "It‘s clear that the plenaries held on the 6 and 7 September weren’t the best in the history of the Catalan Parliament, but it was a last resort," he said.