Greek gov't in spat with Spain's ambassador over Catalonia

Greece has called on Spain's ambassador to Athens to rescind statements to a Greek newspaper suggesting that Athens was not supportive of Spanish unity, revealing strains between the European Union partners over a Catalan independence drive. 

"It is with surprise that we note the comments made by the ambassador of friend and ally Spain, criticising publicly the Greek government," the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

EU leaders, wary of encouraging separatists across the bloc, have largely backed the Madrid government during a deepening political crisis which culminated last week in the Catalan parliament voting to unilaterally declare the region's independence from Spain. 

The Spanish Ambassador to Greece, Enrique Viguera, was quoted in Sunday's Eleftheros Typos newspaper as saying that while he had clear assurances of support for Spanish...