The Spanish government has given Catalan leaders until Thursday to back away from claiming independence or face the possibility of direct rule from Madrid.
Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan regional president, refused to clarify whether he declared independence from Spain last week, missing a Monday morning deadline set by the central government. Mr Puigdemont instead called for dialogue.
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, Spain’s deputy prime minister, said Mr Puigdemont now had until Thursday to change his stance or the government would “take the next steps”. She mentioned article 155 of the constitution, which allows them to suspend autonomy, take direct command of the region and even call new regional elections.
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