Spain Tight-lipped About Preliminary Probe Into 'Russian Trace' In Catalonia

Spain will not comment on a preliminary probe into media claims that Russian spies were active in the turbulent Catalan province, a government spokeswoman said Friday

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) Spain will not comment on a preliminary probe into media claims that Russian spies were active in the turbulent Catalan province, a government spokeswoman said Friday.

"As for the so-called Russian trace, the alleged link to Russian spies, the preliminary investigation is confidential. I have nothing else to say," Isabel Celaa, the acting education minister, told reporters.

She responded to a question about whether Madrid was planning to send a note of protest to Moscow or call a Spanish-Russian committee on disinformation that the countries' foreign ministers agreed on last year.

Catalonia was swept by unrest last month after the top Spanish court gave lengthy jail terms to nine Catalan leaders for preparing the 2017 independence referendum.

Claims about Russian meddling in Catalonia sprang up soon after a vast majority of those who cast votes in the referendum supported a split from Spain, prompting the Catalan government to announce independence.

Spain's El Pais daily said Thursday that the High Court had opened a probe into the alleged role of Russian military intelligence in the Catalan separatist movement. The Russian ambassador called the suspicion outrageous.