Lithuania calls for dialog in solving Catalan crisis

"We support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Spain and, at the same time, we call for solving this crisis through dialog, not by force or violence," Linkevičius said on LRT Radio on Friday.

"Apparently, possibilities of dialogue have not been exhausted and a constitutional solution needs to be found. What we see now is a conflict or even a head-on collision of decisions. We do hope that this will not escalate into physical confrontation and violence," he said.

The Spanish Senate on Friday approved direct rule over Catalonia shortly after the region's parliament declared independence from Spain.

"The alternative to dialog is confrontation, unrest, victims. This is not how it should be in a democratic country. They need to look for a constitutional solution and talk, which, in my opinion, has not been exhausted in the past," the Lithuanian foreign minister said, commenting on the situation.