Catalonia will declare independence "in a few days," separatist leader Carles Puigdemon told the BBC, defying Madrid and trying to enforce what was stipulated by a law banned by the Spanish authorities. —Referendum on self-determination.
Putin said his government would "act later this week or early next" during an interview with British public television and television on Tuesday.
Asked by the network what he would do if the Spanish government intervened and took control of the government of Catalonia, Pujdemon replied that this "would be a mistake that would change everything".
The leader of Catalonia had announced that he would proceed with a unilateral declaration of its independence from Spain as early as Sunday, when millions of citizens, defying the intervention of the Spanish police and violence, went to the polls. According to local authorities, 90% of those who voted were in favor of the region's independence.
The referendum, declared illegal by Spain's central government, is provoking the country's most serious political and constitutional crisis in decades and raises fears of widespread violence as the test of Madrid and Barcelona's will continues to unfold.
Source: Newsbeast.gr