Dimitri Medóev, a Moscow-affiliated politician from South Ossetia said to be close to the Russian president, visited the semi-autonomous region’s capital Barcelona with the intention of establishing links between the Kremlin and a possible independent Catalonia, according to Spanish intelligence sources.
Mr Medóev, the republic’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Barcelona on Monday and Tuesday and opened an office in an attempt to cement bilateral relations, according to the Russian media outlet Sputnik.
South Ossetia, with just 53,000 inhabitants, along with Abkhazia, with a population of 240,000, proclaimed their independence from Georgia in the 1990s and, 25 years later, have only been recognised by Nicaragua, Venezuela and Russia, which did so in 2008 after having supported their cause.
In 2014, Russia and Abkhazia signed a cooperation agreement to create joint military and police groups.
According to calculations by the Government of Georgia, Moscow has 10,000 soldiers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
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Before going to Catalonia, Mr Medóev visited the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, just when they were holding a referendum to ask Rome for more autonomy.
There, he met with various regional and local authorities. Neither the Catalan government nor the separatist authorities of South Ossetia confirmed or denied yesterday whether there was any meeting with senior Catalan officials or legislators.
On September 25, before the referendum, the South Ossetian separatist authorities issued a statement in which they asked for respect for “the right of sovereignty of the citizens of Catalonia” and warned that “violence and double standards are unacceptable”.
According to newspaper El Pais, which is opposed to Catalonia’s independence, pro-Russian profiles on social networks have shared information in favour of the independence of Catalonia in recent weeks.
Catalonia will also be keen to forge alliances after the leaders of the European Union (EU) including the UK, put their weight behind Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his desire to crush any hopes of Catalonia becoming an independence republic.
The European Parliament President Antonio Tajani recently said: “No European country will recognise Catalonia as an independent country.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “If Catalonia is to become independent, other people will do the same. I don’t like that. I don’t like to have a euro in 15 years that will be 100 different states. It is difficult enough with 17 states. With many more states it will be impossible.”