Catalan’s separatist leaders offered to recognize Russia’s claim to Crimea in exchange for Kremlin support for their independence movement and, according to a Spanish police report, they have censored their own public statements in order to get it, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Intercepted text messages reveal intense and even anguished discussions among senior figures about how to avoid antagonizing the Russian government, including by downplaying support for jailed Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny, adds OCCRP, a NED partner.
