MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the Catalan crisis was Spain’s internal affair but slammed what he called Western double standards over separatist movements. “Russia’s position is known here. All that is happening is Spain’s internal business and must be resolved within Spanish law and on the basis of democratic traditions,” Putin said at a meeting with international relations experts in the Black Sea city of Sochi. However, he argued the crisis exposed Western inconsistency and hypocrisy in backing some separatists while opposing others – such as support for Kosovan independence, but opposition to Catalan and Kurdish claims. “What we see is …read more Source:...