INTERVIEW-"We will be independent," Catalan regional leader says

Catalonia's regional leader Quim Torra told Reuters on Friday that he wants to agree on a date for an independence referendum as part of talks with the Spanish government, arguing that the region's path towards secession is "irreversible".

Catalonia has been a dominant theme in Spanish politics since the region briefly declared independence in October 2017 following a referendum deemed illegal by courts, prompting the country's biggest political crisis in decades. Torra met on Thursday with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who rejects any move towards independence but agreed to hold talks with Catalonia's leaders to discuss the future of the wealthy northeastern region.

"We will be independent," Torra said in an interview at his 15th-century regional government palace in Barcelona. He would not discuss a target date but said he was confident that the path to independence for Catalonia was "absolutely irreversible."