Spain's acting PM Sanchez backs Catalan amnesty deal in bid to form government

File photo: A picture of ERC's leader Oriol Junqueras is shown during a unionist protest against amnesty of separatist leaders and activists involved in the 2017 failed independence drive at Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, Spain, October 8, 2023. REUTERS/ Albert Gea/File photo

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday said he supported granting a controversial amnesty to those involved in Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid, in the hope of persuading the region's parties to back him in government.

"In the interest of Spain, in defence of coexistence among Spaniards, I defend today the amnesty in Catalonia for the events of the past decade," Sanchez said during a meeting of the Socialist Party's Federal Committee in Madrid.