May, Sturgeon meet in Scotland, but neither lady is for turning

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon meet in a hotel in Glasgow, Scotland, March 27, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May and Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon met Monday, just 24 hours before the Scottish Parliament's scheduled vote for a second independence referendum.

The meeting in a Glasgow hotel room also came just 48 hours before May finally triggers the unstoppable process to signal Britain's departure from the European Union.

Sturgeon wants a second independence referendum before Britain's Brexit deal is agreed by Brussels. May says she doesn't want an independence referendum until a deal with Brussels is resolved.

Despite the smiles and friendliness of Monday's meeting, both leaders demonstrated they were not for changing their minds.

The private meeting between the pair lasted for an hour during a day trip to Scotland by May.

Later Sturgeon described their talks as cordial, adding she was frustrated by "a process that appears not to be listening."

In a media interview later, Sturgeon said she had wished the prime minister well for the forthcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU.

But she said she had been frustrated that May had not made any concessions over the first minister's demands for a distinctive Brexit deal for Scotland.

The Scotsman newspaper in Scotland reported that when asked about what would happen if Sturgeon's call for another referendum was formally rejected, the SNP leader replied: "I will set that out in due course. I actually have views in my mind around that. If their (May's government) position remains as it is right now, I will set out to parliament what I think the next steps should be."

Earlier, May addressed civil servants at a government office in East Kilbride, talking about the importance of the United Kingdom sticking together.