Madrid 8 NOV 2019 – 00:12 CET
More than twenty ambassadors accredited in Madrid – those of the great countries of the EU and Latin America – have avoided in recent days meeting with the head of Foreign Affairs of the Generalitat, Alfred Bosch. The conseller’s office contacted the main legations in Spain, including those of France and Germany, which confirm having rejected an appointment with Bosch in Madrid. The search for accessions abroad is one of the key strategies of the pro-independence process.
Diplomats are suspicious of meeting with members of the Generalitat at a time of high political voltage, at the gates of a general election and with the riots that have been experienced in the streets of Catalonia after the sentence of the process. After an unsuccessful attempt to hold a joint meeting with the accredited consuls in Barcelona, the Catalan regional Minister of Foreign Affairs has sent in recent days letters to the main embassies in Madrid to try to set individual appointments, without giving more clues about the purpose of this initiative.
In the letters, sent by email, he wondered if the ambassador contacted “would be available to meet with the councilor Bosch”, according to one of those brief documents, to which EL PAÍS had access. Some of the dates offered for the meetings were October 30 and November 6. Despite these evidences, sources of the Generalitat deny that they have tried to contact the ambassadors and assure that the visits made to Madrid have had the sole objective of attending the foreign press, reports Camilo S. Baquero.
A good number of European countries (France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Cyprus and Andorra) declined the invitation or simply did not answer, as confirmed by different sources diplomatic and governmental. In America, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Canada, they did not answer the call of the Generalitat. To the list of legations that eluded the visit is added that of Japan.
In addition to the German and French diplomatic sources that claim to have declined the offer, other embassies requesting anonymity confirm the refusal to meet with the minister. One of those who has received authorities from the Generalitat in the past alleges agenda problems to meet these days, although he also concedes that he weighed the will to “avoid being instrumentalized” in such a sensitive matter for Spain.
Since the publication of the sentence, both the Government and the Generalitat have sought to offer embassies their views on the document. The day it was announced on October 14, the Secretary of State of Global Spain, Irene Lozano, gathered almost 110 of the 119 ambassadors accredited in Spain.
https://elpais.com/politica/2019/11/07/actualidad/1573150387_748408.html
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