CATALONIA SECESSION BID
Poll backed by Madrid seen as only way to go
Belgrade — Catalonia’s president has no choice but to suspend secession since it is unlikely anyone will recognise the Spanish region on the basis of a disputed referendum, says a former British diplomat who has advised the Catalans and other secessionist movements. Carne Ross, who as founder of the diplomatic consultancy Independent Diplomat has worked with Kosovo, South Sudan, Western Sahara and Catalonia on their respective bids for sovereignty, said there would be no solution to the crisis without a legal plebiscite agreed to by Madrid. To get there would require pressure from Spain’s EU partners, said Ross, who advised the Catalan government from July 2013 to September 2015 and is a committed advocate of self-determination. "A full declaration of independence would have been very problematic, would have led to obvious confrontation with Madrid and he [Catalan President Carles Puigdemont] was under enormous pressure not to declare independence, including I assume from the countr...
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