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Belgian deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, Didier Reynders, has called this Thursday for the Belgian justice system to be left to do its work with respect to the civil lawsuit brought against judge Pablo Llarena by the Catalan government in exile.

"I think the legal authorities have to be left to work together, it's what we're trying to do", Reynders said in response to a journalist asking about the controversy over the translation of statements by Llarena quoted in the lawsuit. A remark originally prefaced by the word "if" was mistakenly translated more emphatically, making it seem that Llarena had directly said the accused had done some of the things under investigation.

The Belgian minister was speaking as he arrived at an informal meeting of European ministers in Vienna, also attended by his Spanish counterpart, Josep Borrell. He didn't say whether he will take the opportunity to meet with Borrell, but said that the Belgian ambassador to Spain is in contact with the Spanish justice ministry to promote legal cooperation.

"We're trying to see how to move forward as well as possible in this matter, as we've done in other recent legal cases," he said. Belgium was one of the countries which considered extradition warrants against members of the Catalan government in exile.