Spain’s new Socialist government was to hold talks with Catalonia’s separatist executive on Wednesday The Socialist government opposes a new referendum, which it says would further split a Catalan population already sharply divided over independence BARCELONA: Spain’s new Socialist government was to hold talks with Catalonia’s separatist executive on Wednesday in the first such meeting in seven years as tensions eased but sharp divergences remained over the region’s self-determination. From 4:30pm local time, representatives of both executives will meet at the headquarters of the regional government in Barcelona as part of a bilateral commission that has not met since 2011. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Catalan president Quim Torra agreed to re-activate the commission when they met on July 10 in Madrid. The region’s leaders want to talk about the possibilityof holding a new independence referendum in Catalonia and the situation of separatist figures in jail as they await trial for their role in a failed secession attempt last October. The Socialist government opposes a new referendum, which it says would further split a Catalan population already sharply divided over independence. Sanchez, who came to power at the start of June after a no-confidence motion toppled his conservative predecessor Mariano Rajoy, promised to improve relations between Madrid and Catalan leaders, who unsuccessfully proclaimed a republic on October 27. But pro-independence leaders, whose support of Sanchez’s no-confidence vote was key to its success and on whom he partially relies to remain in power, have asked for concrete action. “We need to have some patience because we won’t solve this in one day but there must be steps forward,” said regional government spokeswoman Elsa Artadi.